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MEDITATIONS AND CONFERENCES 

FOR A 

RETREAT OF TEN DAYS, 

SALES AND ST. JANE DE CiIaNT^. 



ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT OF STJ FRANCIS^ J$.yj 



FROM THE FRENCH OF AEBE PU$UESNE, 



WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING SUPPLEMENTARY MEDITA- 
TIONS, THE RETREAT OF ST. JANE FRANCES 
DE CHANT AL, AND SELECTIONS FROM 
HER CONFERENCES. 



Translated by the Sisters of the Visitation. 



WITH THE APPROVAL OF 

RIGHT REV. C. E. McDONNELL, D.D., 
Bishop of Brooklyn. 






PRESS OF THE 

MISSION OF THE IMMACULATE VIRGIN. 

Mount Loretto, Stateu Island, N. Y. 



■HonMWjrf the Visitation, 



A— 



^:; 



Tas Library 
of Congress 

washington 



3> 



NIHIL OB STAT, 

Rev. D. J. McMahon, D.D. 



Imprimatur : 

f Michael Augustine, 

Archbishop of New York K 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Preface, vii 

Plan of the Work, ... . . . . . . ix 

Approbation, . . xi 

Directory of Spiritual Exercises, xiii 

RETREAT OF TEN DATS. 

First Meditation : For the Eve of the Retreat, ... 1 

FIRST DAY. 

First Meditation: On Creation, 4 

Second " On the End of Man, . . . ' . 7 

Third " On the End of a Christian, . . 11 

Conference : On the End of the Religious State, . . 14 

SECOND DAY. 

First Meditation: On Mortal Sin, . . . . 19 

Second " On Yenial Sin, .... 25 

Third " On Abuse of Grace, . . . . 31 

Conference : On Religious Vigilance, 38 

THIRD DAY. 

First Meditation: On Death, 45 

Second " On the Last Judgment, ... 52 

Third " On Hell, 59 

Conference: On the Vow of Chastity, .... 66 

FOURTH DAY. 

First Meditation : On the Happiness of Heaven, . . 74 

Second " On the Imitation of Jesus Christ, . 81 
Third " On the Imitation of Our Holy Found- 
ers, . . . , . . .89 

Conference : On the Vow of Poverty, . ' . . . 95 

FIFTH DAY. 

First Meditation : On Mortification, .... 103 

Second " On Crosses and Pains of Mind, . . 110 

Third " On Abandonment to Divine Providence 118 

Conference: On the Vow of Obedience, .... 127 



IV CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
SIXTH DAY. 

First Meditation : On the Knowledge of Jesus Christ, . 136 

Second '■ On the Love of Jesus Christ, . . 145 

Third " On Union with Jesus Christ, . .154 

Conference: On Prayer, 163 

SEVENTH DAY. 

First Meditation: On the Divine Office, . . . .171 
Second " On the Interior Life, . . . .181 

Third " On Silence, 188 

Conference: On Exactitude in the Observances, . . 195 



EIGHTH DAY. 

First Meditation : On Humility of Heart, . . . 204 

Second " On Meekness of Spirit, . . . 214 

Third " On Mutual Love, . . . .221 

Conference: On Aversions and Particular Friendships, . 228' 



NINTH DAY. 

First Meditation : On the Grace of the Eeligious Voca- 
tion, 236 

Second " On the Advantages of the Religious 

Life, . . . . . .243 

Third " On the Engagements of the Eeligious 

Life, 251 

Conference : On the Spirit of the Visitation in Particu- 
lar, 259 

TENTH DAY. 

First Meditation: On Perseverance, .... 266 

Second " On the Reception of the Sacraments, 275 

Third " On Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, . 284 

Conference: On Religious Perfection 7 , .... 292 

Supplementary Meditations : — 

God our End, . . . . . . .305 

Shortness of Time 308 

On the Price of Grace, 310 

On Eternity 313 

On the Blessed Eucharist, .316 

Oblation of our Lord Jesus Christ, .... 319 

On the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 323 

Jesus in the Sepulchre, 328 

Baptismal Promises, .• 331 

We Must Live as Pilgrims, 335 

On Avoiding all Relapses into our Former Faults, . 338 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Letter of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, to Mother de Chatel 

on Ketreats, 345 

Letter of St. Jane Frances de Chantal to the Sisters of the 

Visitation on Retreats, 347 

Retreat of St. Jane Frances de Chantal: — 

A Preface, 348 

I. Meditation : On Creation, 353 

II. " . On the End for which we are created, 354 

III. " • On Benefits, 356 

IV. " On Sin, .358 

V. " On Death, 360 

VI. " On Judgment, . . . .362 

VII. " On Hell, 364 

VIII. " On Paradise 366 

IX. " On Religious Poverty, . . .368 

X. " On Obedience, . . . .370 

XL " On Chastity, . . . . .372 

XII. " On Knowing Our Misery and 

Weakness, . . . . 374 

XIII. " On the Submission shown by 

our Saviour, .... 376 

XIV. " On the Grace of being Daughters 

of Holy Church, . . . .378 

XV. " On the Benefit of the Religious Vo- " 

cation, 380 

XVI. " The Religious Life obliges us to 

follow our Saviour, . . . 382 
XVII. " On the Principal Lessons our 

Saviour teaches the Religious, . 384 
XVIII. " On the Means by which the Religious 

wins the Heart of her Beloved, . 386 

XIX. " On the Love of our Neighbor, . 388 

XX. " On the Garden of Olives, . . 390 

XXL " On the Love of our Saviour in 

Suffering, . . . ..392 

XXII. " On our Saviour on the Cross, . . 394 

XXIII. " On the first Five Words of Jesus 

on the Cross, . . . .396 

XXIV. " On the Blessed Virgin at the Foot 

of the Cross 398 

XXV. " On the Death of our Saviour on 

the Cross, ..... 400 
XXVI. The Joy and Happiness of the 

Soul is in the Cross, . . . 402 

XXVII. " On Our Saviour's Resurrection, . 404 

XXVIII. " On the Ascension of Our Lord, . 406 

XXIX. " On the Descent of the Holy Ghost, . 408 

XXX. " On the Presence of God, . . 410 

XXXI. " On the Providence of God, . . 412 

XXXII. " On the Will of God, . . .414 



H 



CONTEXTS. 



PAGE 

XXXIII. Meditation : On Privations ; Conclusion of the 

Retreat 416 



SELECTIONS FROM THE CONFERENCES OF ST. 
JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL. 

LI. Conference : On Retreat and the Annual 

Confession, . . . .421 
LIII. " On the Principal Fruit of the 

Retreat, .... 423 

LXII. On the Necessity of Exterior 

and Interior Renunciation, . 425 
III. " On the Qualities of True Zeal, 

Foundations of Solid Virtue, . 428 
XL. " On the Spirit of Humility, . 434 

XVII. " On Humility and Solid Virtue, . 436 

VIII. " .On Self -Love and the Damage it 

does the Soul, . . .441. 

XXXIII. " On Prayer and Mortification, . 444 

LII. " On Fidelity in Accomplishing 

the Resolutions of Retreat, . 448 
XLI. " On Abandonment to Provi- 
dence, 451 

Examination of Conscience by St. Jane Frances de 

Chantal, 457 

Act for the Renovation of Vows, 466 

Arrangement for a Retreat of Eight Days, . . . 470 
" Three Days. , . .473 



PREFACE. 

Every virtue has more or less attraction and power over 
our hearts according to the character and dispositions which 
govern us ; but humility and meekness have charms which 
no one can resist. The union of these two virtues so 
perfectly characterizes St. Francis de Sales, that it is 
impossible not to honor him, under these distinctive traits. 

The meekness of his spirit and the humility of his heart, 
so opposed to the manners of our age, must, however, 
make greater among us, the veneration and love which 
was given him during life. Always, and justly appre- 
ciated by the greatest minds of that time, why has not 
this great saint, as dear to God as to men, been more 
imitated? This precious model is worthily retraced in the 
Order to which he has left his spirit as an inheritance. 
A spirit of humility which does not overcome by menaces, 
which does not invoke the fire of heavenly vengeance, as 
that of Elias, but which, like that of Jesus Christ, attracts 
by its influence, animates by promises, vivifies by 
consolations ; a spirit which, although one of meekness, 
does not form weak souls, but souls strong and generous 
in combat, because the weapons they use are the arrows 
of divine love. 

It is to you, O cherished daughters of this tender Father, 
whom heaven has given you in mercy, to you, O beloved 



Vlll PREFACE. 

children of a Mother, who, formed by the amiable lessons 
of this great master of the spiritual life, was the most 
perfect model of the virtues of your state, I dedicate this 
little work ; not to instruct you in the sublime lessons of 
perfection which both have given you ; but to animate you 
more and more in the love, zeal and fidelity, which you 
owe to the holy Rules, which the spirit of God has dictated 
to you through their ministry; Rules full of wisdom, 
which the Holy See has recognized in the approbation it 
has given them, wherein all appears easy because all is 
smoothed by love and yet in which all leads to the highest 
perfection. Happy if, by these reflections, drawn from 
the writings of your holy founders, and which are as their 
spirit, I can assist you to reanimate yourselves in the way 
of salvation, and to become the glory and crown of him, 
who has traced out for you the road to sanctity, and of 
her, who has directed your first steps by walking with you 
in the path of the Just. May you by the faithful practice 
of these Meditations and Conferences, in which there 
is nothing new to you, where all is fitted to the state and 
refers to the Institute which you have chosen, may 
you be always the good odor of Jesus Christ and the 
ornament of His Church. 

Tf I succeed in my purpose, to God alone be the glory 
forever and ever. Amen. 



PLAN OF THE WORK. 

The Author of these Meditations having proposed to 
give, especially to the Religious of the Visitation of Holy 
Mary, a sort of treatise on the duties of their state, 
according to the spirit of their Institute, has thought he 
could not make use of a form more suitable, and more 
interesting for them, than that of a Retreat, for the reason 
that it is more particularly in those days which serve 
as a preparation for the renovation of their vows, that 
retired apart, they occupy themselves in learning, and 
scrutinizing, and strengthening themselves therein the 
way of sanctity. 

To assist and sustain their fervor in these days of 
solitude, light and grace, the author has thought he 
should speak less to the mind than to the heart. With this 
view he has applied himself in the first point of the 
Meditation to instruct ; and in the second to lead the 
soul to entertain herself with herself or with God, on the 
faults she recognizes in herself after the instruction 
received ; on the means of repairing these faults, and on 
the resolutions conformed to her needs, that she ought 
to take. 

He might have proposed (and certainly it would have 
been easier) to give only simple subjects of Meditation ; 
but considerations of this kind to which many authors 



± PLAIT OF TEE WORK. 

limit themselves, being too unconnected, and little fitted 
to convince the mind or touch the heart, would not have 
fulfilled his project. Besides, persuaded as he is, by his 
own experience, that it is not enough to make a profession 
of piety to learn the art of meditating, he has given 
meditations already made. 

Perhaps they will be found a little long. But sentiments 
and tastes differ ; that which makes an impression on one 
heart, does not equally affect others. He, therefore, deter- 
mined to give to each subject a sufficient extent in a connec- 
ted and uninterrupted manner. Moreover, holy souls may 
content themselves with one point, even with one reflection 
with which to occupy themselves usefully during the time 
of prayer. If they judge proper, they may use for spiritual 
reading (besides the Conferences given for this pur- 
pose) all that they may not have used for their meditation 
or prayer. 

Although this Retreat belongs particularly to the Re- 
ligious of the Visitation, it is suitable, not only for all 
other religious persons, but also for all souls who, although 
in the world are not of the world, and who aspire to a 
greater perfection. J 

This work being divided into forty Meditations or 
Conferences m*ay serve for reading during the forty 
days of Lent. 



OKIGINAL APPKOBATION. 

I have read, by order of the Chancellor, a Manuscript 
entitled: "Spiritual Retreat or familiar Conferences, 
according to the Spirit of St. Francis of Sales/' and I 
have found nothing in this pious work, composed princi- 
pally for the Sisters of the Visitation, contrary to faith 
and morals. On the contrary, all therein breathes the 
spirit of the holy Founder, witn which tnese virtuous souls 
are animated. 

The Sorbonne, the 18th of December, 1771. 

Adhent. 



DIRECTORY OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES 



TEN DAYS OF RETREAT, 



TAKEN FROM THE SOLITUDE OF ST. FRANCIS OF SALES. 



To be Read on the First Day. 



The first day of Retreat should be employed in with- 
drawing the mind from created things, tranquillizing it, 
in becoming more solitary interiorly than exteriorly and 
in opening the heart to God alone. 

Those who follow these exercises will, each evening 
before retiring, read over the meditation for the morrow, 
dwelling upon the point that touches them most. They 
may, if they wish, make use of it all day, or each time 
take a consideration and affection from the Meditations. 

Those who wish to follow what is marked in the 
Custom-Book not only may, but ought to do so with sim- 
plicity, with the advice of the Superioress ; but in this 
case I believe that these Meditations, and those of our 
Blessed Father on the same subject, may be useful for 
reading. 

The day of confession, they will make only the ordi- 
nary meditations, and then occupy themselves in pre- 
paring for confession. It will also be well to make the 
usual reading on the subject of the meditation, making 



XIV DIRECTORY OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 

the confession concisely, so as to take as short a time as 
possible ; for it is not only for confession that these 
reviews are made, but to discover the state of our soul ; 
and, what is more important, to make it known to those 
who direct us on the part of God. Especially should 
we find out the principal motives, passions, and impulses 
which have caused our failings, proposing to ourselves, 
the remedies we think most proper for our amendment. 
If we wish the Retreat to be profitable, it is then, princi- 
pally, that we must practise holy simplicity in opening 
our hearts as our holy rules mark, and be faithful in 
following the advice given us. 

We must also observe if we have advanced or not, since 
our last Retreat, and how we have kept our resolutions. 
The other days, after the morning meditation, we must 
occupy our minds with it while doing our work, or, if we 
experience difficulty in this, read from time to time some 
suitable subject so as to avoid distractions. 

Afterwards, we will say our Office at the same time as 
the community, being attentive to it, as well as to the 
subject of prayer. 

We will also hear holy Mass with attention. After the 
meditation that follows, we will make a little review, in 
form of examination upon what we have done during the 
morning, dwelling more upon the/exercises than upon our 
faults. It will also be well to perform more mortifications 
than usual in the refectory, being also attentive to the 
reading which, if possible, we will refer to the subject of 
meditation. We should never divert our minds from 
this, lest the devil play us a trick and make us lose our 
time under the guise of holy thoughts. 

If several spend the recreation together, it must be 
made profitable and devout, by conversing and cor- 
dially sharing good thoughts, views, and lights. We 



DIRECTOR^ OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. XV 

cannot imagine how useful this exercise is when well 
performed. 

It will be well to begin the time of silence by recalling 
some of the sweet, gentle, and loving thoughts of the 
morning meditation, rejoicing to return to more intimate 
communication with our divine Saviour, regretting what- 
ever has turned our hearts from this holy exercise. If we 
have any difficulty in turning our minds to these holy 
thoughts, we may read some suitable pious book. We 
may also do this from time to time when dry or dis- 
tracted, for it is most profitable to keep from our minds, 
during this holy time, any thought not conformable to our 
meditations. We especially advise that the reading on 
the first days should be made on the points of humility. 
This reading may be made with the community, although 
we may read at any time. Perhaps, we may find it 
more convenient to prepare during reading time the 
meditation to be made before Vespers, this being left 
free. 

Vespers will be said with the community, and we will 
employ the conference time in reading some points 
of the rule and directory, especially in what concerns 
our employment, recalling the faults we have committed 
and their motives, the means and resolutions of amend- 
ment ; considering what we must do to overcome each 
fault in particular and to practise the contrary virtue. 

We will say Complin at the time marked, and read the 
point of prayer to be made afterwards ; then take a little 
relaxation for a quarter of an hour, saying the beads. The 
exercises of the refectory and recreation will follow. 
Between the recreation and eight o'clock, or when we 
retire, or the next day, we may take notes on what we 
have remarked, for generally the review is made when we 
go to the choir at eight o'clock, and we must be very exact 



Xvi DIRECTORY OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES. 

in order to impress upon our minds all that has passed 
during the day. When we have free time we may make 
meditations or say our beads until the bell for the obedience, 
after which we read the meditation for the next morning, in 
order to reflect upon it and fix it in our minds during the 
quarter before Matins. 

We may also in our cells or elsewhere perform some 
mortifications besides those that are customary in the re- 
fectory, as saying an Our Father with the arms extended, 
kissing the floor, prostrating, wearing the cincture, taking 
the discipline, and similar penances. Holy Communion 
should also be more frequent after the three days employ- 
ed in preparation for confession. 

It is to be observed that this directory is by no means 
obligatory, it is only to serve as a foundation and rule 
for those not yet accustomed to retreats, or those who 
are tried by aridity, obscurity, and wandering of mind, as 
well as for those who feel inclined to follow it. However, 
it would be well to express simply to the Superioress our 
desire on the subject, in order that holy liberty may not 
hinder holy obedience, nor holy obedience interfere with 
holy liberty. 

On the day of preparation for confession we should first 
read the examination of conscience, given at the end of 
the exercises. It is advisable/ to think of it only on the 
day when the meditation on sin is made. 



MEDITATION 

FOR THE 

EVE OF RETREAT. 

First Point. 

"I will lead her into solitude and there I will speak to her 
heart." Osee ii., 14. 

How consoling is this promise ! It is a God who makes 
it to me for the happiness of my soul. Behold, says He, 
days of salvation, in which I will take you aside, and shed 
upon you a ray of the light which surrounds Me, to 
enable you to see the wounds of your soul, and to 
discover the principal ones and their depth. Come, there- 
fore, and follow Me into the desert ; there I will make 
known to you, your miseries, and I will give you the 
grace to apply the necessary remedies, how painful and 
repugnant soever, they may be to nature. Put yourself 
in a state to hear My voice, and to profit by My 
assistance, by separating yourself from every sensible 
object. Perhaps it is the last time that My mercy will 
invite you to meditate upon the terrible effects of My 
justice on those whom I have called to a greater perfec- 
tion, and who have not corresponded to My designs. 
Rise then, from the dust, and break the chains which hold 
you captive. It is time to quit a state in which I can no 
longer recognize you. You cannot rise of yourself, but 
again I offer you the power of My Arm, which you have 
so often experienced, to draw you from the atryss into 
which you have fallen. Do not render this retreat useless 
for you. My designs, in your favor, will be accom- 
plished, if you second my views. 

Behold the epoch of your perfect conversion ; the time 
when I wish you to return* to Me in a solid and 
unchangeable manner. Profit then by these movements 



2 EVE OF THE RETREAT. 

of grace. Remember your first entrance into religion ., 
what fervor in your prayers ! What generosity in 
your mortifications ! What fidelity in your spiritual 
exercises ! what dependance ! what abnegation ! what 
purity of intention ! How you have fallen from that first 
state ! How you have plunged into the most shameful 
servitude ! You who were destined to fill one of the 
highest places in heaven. Ah ! break the bonds of flesh 
and blood which attach you to perishable things, which 
you have so solemnly renounced. You were created to 
enjoy the holy liberty of My children, and not to grovel 
in the servitude of the animal spirit. Break down then, 
that fatal wall which separates you from Me. Change 
your manner of life. Shed over 30111' infidelities torrents 
of tears ; no longer place obstacles to My graces ; render 
yourself worthy of Me, for I am still willing to love } 7 ou, 
to live in you. The aurora begins to appear; behold, the 
day approaches ; walk by its light, whilst My mercy offers 
it to you. New r Jays on your part may cause a dread- 
ful darkness to succeed these rays of My light' which now 
shine upon you. Not to profit by the treasure I offer 
you may be, perhaps, to destroy forever the efficacious 
resources which I now provide for your conversion. 
Appreciate their value, and profit by them, for the 
reformation of your conduct. Offer to Me upon the altar 
of penance, the double holocaust of your mind and your 
heart, to avenge My glory, for your past infidelities, and 
to be restored to the rights of My faithful children. 

Second Point. 

Behold me, O my God ! ready to do Thy divine Will 
I only deserve that thou shouldst abandon me, after so 
much abuse of Thy graces, so much resistance to Thy 
inspirations ; but Thou art a Father full of kindness, Who 
wiliest not the death of a sinner, but that he be converted 
and live. Thy voice resounds in the bottom of my heart, 
and 1 will be perfectly docile and faithful to it, in this 
retreat. Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. My 
heart is ready, O God, my'heart is ready. I will no longer 
place obstacles to Thy mercy, whose treasures are opened 



EVE OF THE RETREAT. 



3 



to me I throw myself into the arms of Thy paternal 
goodness, and I will pass over in the bitterness of my 
heart, all the years of my life. I will espouse the inter- 
ests of Thy justice against myself, and represent to my 
mind, the great day of Thy vengeance, or rather that 
profound night which will be followed by no more day, 
when a rain of fire and sulphur, accompanied by thunder 
and lightning will consume the universe; when in the 
midst of the smoking remains of the destroyed world, 
nothing shall be heard but these dreadful words : u Arise 
ye dead, and come to judgment." I will prevent the 
rigors of that degree against me, by imposing on myself, 
the most severe penance for so many prevarications in 
my exercises of piety, in the observance of my rules ; 
for so many confessions, which, when I consider the 
little regret I had for my faults and my little amend- 
ment, I have cause to fear were useless ; for the many 
retreats, by which I have profited so little, and which 
not making me more perfect, have rendered me more 
culpable. I will now take the surest means, the most 
efficacious measures, to guard against the depravity of my 
heart. I will learn to conform my whole conduct to the 
sanctitj- of my profession. In a word, I will renew 
myself in the spirit of my holy vocation, in order to 
become, as St. Paul says, " a new creature in Jesus 
Christ," or as says St. Gregory Nazianzen, "another 
Jesus Christ." 

Ah ! Lord too many and too powerful motives lead me 
to acknowledge here, the favorable traits of Thy mercy 
on my soul, which merited only the blows of Thy venge- 
ance. I will then, with the help of Thy grace, make all 
the effort I can, to occupy myself in this retreat, and 
forever, with Thee and my salvation, alone. I will con- 
sider myself as alone in this world with Thee ; my whole 
self and all within me shall be in solitude ; my mind, my 
senses, my. heart, my soul, my body. Nothing human 
even in my thoughts, forgetfulness of all ; silence and 
custody- of the senses, entire and perfect recollection ; 
such is the law 1 impose on myself, and which I will faith- 
fully follow during these days of retreat. In calm all 
becomes sensible and my soul is desirous of experiencing, 



4 ON CREATION. 

of feeling even the lightest breath of Thy grace. Such 
are my dispositions, my God ! But what can I do 
without Thee? To Thee alone it belongs to dissipate my 
darkness by the splendor of Thy divine light. Deign to 
grant me this favor, my needs solicit it and Thy glory 
requires it. Teach me to know Thee and to know 
myself. Whilst enlightening me, pour into my heart Thy 
unction and love, which alone can work its salvation ; 
take possession of it that, it may receive only the impres- 
sions of Thy grace ; dispel its ignorance, strengthen its 
weakness, awaken its affections, grant that it may know 
itself, be reformed and reanimated. Kindle within it that 
fire, which Thou earnest on earth to bring. 



FIRST DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. — ON CREATION. 

First Point. 

" Thy hands have made me. . . . Thou has granted me life 
and mercy, and Thy visitation hath preserved my spirit." 
Job x., 8. 12. 

God, concentrated in Himself from all eternity, suffi- 
cient for Himself, finding in Himself His temple and abode, 
infinitely happy in the possession of Himself, executed in 
time, through the sole motive of His love, the design 
which He had formed from all eternity, of creating the 
world, of producing all creatures, and of drawing us from 
nothingness, to communicate to us a participation of His 
being. Oh gratuitous, eternal, and infinite love of God, 
Who, after being occupied with me, during all eternity, 
gave me existence in time ; Who chose me from among the 
infinity of possible creatures, which He left in nothingness 
at the same time that He gave me being ; a being so 
excellent, that His own image is impressed upon it. 
He is a pure spirit, eternal, intelligent, sovereign, free, 
independent, loving Himself necessarily, and loving all 
His creatures freely ; He has given me a spiritual soul, 



ON CREATION. 

immortal, reasonable, capable of a will that bears the 
stamp of the divine sovereignity, and which, rendering it 
incapable of constraint, makes it mistress of its actions. 
But to impress in me humility, and to oblige me to prac- 
tise so necessary a virtue ; to humble me in the midst of 
my greatness, He has united in my person, a body of clay 
and a soul all spiritual. He has joined in me, time and 
eternity, immortality and death ; He has rendered me 
capable, on the one hand, of contemplating the immutable 
and eternal truth with the angels, and on the other of 
enjoying the pleasures of the senses, with the beasts ; near 
to God, by the spirituality of my soul, near to nothing- 
ness, by the corruption of my heart. 

This God infinitely good and magnificent in His works, 
did not limit His gifts to this being of nature ; He gave 
me a second being, which is the being of grace, infinitely 
more noble, and more excellent than the first, since it is 
a supernatural participation of His being, which has made 
me become His own image and likeness, in as much as He 
has communicated to my soul, faith, hope, charity, virtues, 
divine beauties, perfections, knowledge, affections and 
operations in some sort like His own. These precious gifts 
seemed to demand one not less essential, viz. — preserva- 
tion. In vain would God have created me, if His hand, 
which gave me a being, did not preserve it to me ; that is 
to say, if He did not create it continually, and did not 
draw it every moment, from the nothingness into which 
it would fall again. This continued creation renders me 
indebted to God for a new benefit, not less than the first, 
which gave me being. How many favors, and what 
should be my gratitude ! 

Second, Point. 

I adore, O my God! the infinite Power, which, with 
one word, drew the universe from nothingness. I adore 
Thy wisdom which has done all with weight and measure, 
and which is shown in all Thy works. But above all, I 
thank and adore Thee for having given me a being, the 
foundation of every other benefit to me, and that, in pre- 
ference to so manv others, that have remained in nothing- 



6 ON CREATION: 

ness. What can I say to show 1113' gratitude? Return 
into my nothingness, humble myself under Thy almighty 
hand which has drawn me from it, acknowledge that there 
is an infinite distance between Thee, Who possessest the 
plenitude of being, and me, who have only a participation 
of that being. I must make Thee, O Lord, a continual 
sacrifice of a life, which I have received only to consecrate 
to Thy service. In fine, I must take for my portion the 
nothingness which is my origin. Dust and ashes, why 
should I glory in myself ? What can I attribute to myself 
who am formed of the dust which is daily trampled under 
foot? 

Nothingness being nothing has nothing and can do 
nothing. Ah i how many errors are dissipated by medi- 
tating upon this nothingness. " Search the depths of your 
nature," says St. Francis of Sales, " and see if you can find 
food for your vanity." Shall I be so foolish as to exalt 
myself for the gifts I possess, since I owe them to the 
pure liberality of my God? O Eternal Father, Who didst 
create that which was not, that no man might glory in 
himself, penetrate me incessantly with my notninguess ; 
make my heart feel this conviction, not by abandoning me, 
as I have so often deserved on account of my pride, but 
by making me acknowledge Thee as author, centre, and 
principle of my existence. Thou couldst not give me a 
soul so noble, so excellent, but to serve and love Thee ; 
it is then just that I use it conformably to the designs of 
Thy wisdom and goodness ; that I emplo} 7 its operations 
to know and adore Thee, to love and thank Thee, to pre- 
serve and perfect in myself theAmage of Thy being and 
perfection. The Apostle, St. Paul, teaches us that we 
carry the treasures of grace in earthen vessels ; I shall 
fear then in possessing Thy grace, because a single motion 
of my heart is sufficient to make me lose it. I shall fear 
when I have lost it, been use I do not know if I can recover 
it ; I shall fear after having recovered it, because I shall 
become more guilty if I lose it again, I acknowledge, O 
my God, that nothingness is my origin not my principle, 
because it could not communicate to me a being which it 
had not; all comes to me from Thy liberal goodness, all 
in me is an effect of Thy power, a gift of Thy mercy ; 



ON THE END OF MAN * 

Thy divine breath has given me life, and if it did not con- 
tinually work in me, I would be without intelligence, 
without grace, without existence ; I would cease to act if 
Thou didst cease to concur with me ; Thou drawest me 
from nothingness as many times as Thou preventest me 
from relapsing into it. How these truths confound and 
humble me, for what use have I hitherto made of all Thy 
gifts? I have only made them serve my infidelities. The 
being which I received only to consecrate to Thee has 
served but to offend and outrage Thee. Yes, I have dis- 
honored Him, by Whom and for Whom, 1 was made, Him, 
Who alone acts in me, Whose divinity surrounds me, by 
His presents, power, and essence. Nothingness clothed 
with benefits, I have used them against my Benefactor. I 
have lived as though I could dispose of my being and life. 
I have dared to irritate my God, Who could at any moment 
cast me into hell, or let me fall into that nothingness from 
which He drew me. Pardon me, my God. grace and mercy ! 
I return to Thee, do not reject me ; I am the work of Thy 
hands, a disfigured work it is true, but give me a new 
form, that 1 may, according to the design of creation, seek 
and attach myself but to Thee for time and eternity. 



FIRST DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. — ON THE END OF MAN. 

First Point. 

" Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is all man." 
Ecclesiastes xii., 13. 

To fear and serve the Lord is the abridgment of the life 
of man, who should wish only to fulfil the end for which 
he was created. He has received from God life, motion, 
and being ; and he owes Him the homage of it all. 
Independent as this supreme God is, He would have a 
worship. Being the principle of His own being, He will 
also be the centre of all our movements, and the term of 
all our desires. As He has done nothing but for Himself, 



8 ON THE END OF MAN. 

the end of man is necessarily the possession of His glory. 
It is for this glory He has created us, as He, Himself, 
says, and He could not give us any other end. He could 
draw us from nothingness, or leave us in it ; He could 
advance or retard our creation ; but supposing that He 
created us, He could create us only for Himself. Why is 
this? It is because He can only act for an end suitable 
to His goodness, and in giving us any other end than 
Himself, He would have created us to be unhappy, there 
being no true happiness but in Him alone. 

God, all-powerful as He is, could not give us any other 
destination than Himself ; but if He could have done it, if 
He had done it, should we not wish to be only for Him, 
since He alone is eternal and infinitely perfect; since all 
is in Him, and nothing out of Him, or without Him? All 
that is not God, reduces our heart to indigence and over- 
whelms it, as it were, with its own weight. "Oh Lord," 
exclaims St. Augustine, "Thou hast created us for Thy- 
self, and our heart will always be agitated until it reposes 
in Thee." " Thou hast imprinted in our soul," says St. 
Francis of Sales, " a secret inclination which draws us to 
Thee, and which makes us feel unhappy when we are not 
with Thee. All that is less than Thee, may indeed occupy 
a soul which Thou hast made capable of possessing Thee, 
but it is impossible to fill it." What a glory, what a 
happiness for us, that God should make us feel, that He 
alone can make us happy ; that all that is not God, is an 
evil ; that it is hating ourselves not to love Him alone ; 
that we can find no true pleasure but in the possession of 
His being, and in the en joy mint of His love ; that all 
affection which is not for Him is lost ; that every division 
of our heart is as fatal to us, as injurious to Him ; that, 
finally, our interests are connected with His, and that His 
glory alone can produce our felicity. Man, loving this 
glory, seeks it ardently where it is not, because he seeks 
it out of God. He wishes .to procure himself a name 
among men, mortal like himself, he wishes to be respected, 
feared, and obeyed ; behold the illusion of his self-love ; 
an illusion which is soon dissipated in a soul that is atten- 
tive to meditate upon its first beginning and its last end. 
Faith discovers to it so much nobleness in the one, so 



ON THE END OF MAN. 9 

much glory in the other, that it has a sovereign contempt 
for all that is not God. Pompous titles, earthly posses- 
sions, the pleasures of the senses incapable of filling the 
vast extent of its desires, excite its disgust. It despises 
those chimeras of greatness, those futile advantages, which 
are nothing but real meanness to a soul who comes from 
God, and who, destined to re-unite itself to Him in time 
and eternity, should content itself with Him alone. 

My end, the soul says to itself, is God alone ; what can 
I desire out of Him ? What is more worthy of my whole 
heart? Where can I find a more tender Father, a more 
faithful friend? Ah ! if He had onty permitted me to be 
occupied with Him at certain times, as being unworthy of so 
sublime an occupation, would I not have considered those 
limited moments as a precious benefit? Why, then, having 
the happiness of being able to think incessantly of this 
divine object, and of being united to Him continually, as 
to the centre of my felicity, should I neglect this advan- 
tage? No, I wlil never substitute a false happiness for 
the only true one ; I will consult better my own interests 
and without ever deliberating, I will incessantly refer to 
Thee, O Lord, all that I am ; I will breathe, think, act, 
and speak only for Thee ; in a word, I will occupy myself 
only with Thee, in time, that I may one day bless Thee in 
Thy glory for all eternity. 

Second Point. 

God is my end, consequently my end is that of God Him- 
self ; could there be a more noble and excellent one? 
This God, from all eternity, knows Himself , loves Himself, 
forms designs for His own glory, and executes them. 
Thus, He has created me to His image and likeness, for 
the same end ; He has given me a mind, capable of intelli- 
gence, that I may know Him, a free will and heart that I 
may love Him, a body and faculties that I may glorify Him. 
In virtue of my creation, I have an end as sublime as God 
Himself, since He is Himself His only end, and will 
forever be mine. Know thy dignity, my soul, not to take 
pride in it, but to render to thy first being, who is to be 
thy centre and thy term, the just tribute of thy homage. » 



10 



OUT THE END OF If AN. 



Cease to undervalue, and to degrade in thee, the honor 
thou hast of having been made for God, and for God 
alone. In forgetting thyself, thou hast not known 
thyself, and thou hast become, not only like unto the 
beasts, but of a worse condition than they ; since, 
although, deprived of reason, they act conformably to 
their end. Even the most insensible beings never deviate 
from their end. The riverlet flows incessantly towards 
the sea, which is its source ; the stone tends perpetually 
towards the earth, which is its centre ; the fire never ceases 
to ascend towards heaven, which is its sphere ; the planets, 
the light, the seas, and the earth, all things obey His 
voice, and shall I alone, deviate from it? Divine Lord, 
eternal Wisdom, through Whom and for Whom I am 
formed, enable me to return to the ways of order and 
justice from which I have strayed. Reform in me the 
work of Thy hands which I have disfigured, and restore 
it to its pristine beauty. Let creatures and events, far 
from distracting me from Thee, who art my beginning 
and my end, enter into my esteem, excite my desires, and 
occupy my heart only inasmuch as they may bring me 
nearer and unite me to Thee. Undeceive me as to all 
that might share my desires, or enslave my inclinations. 
Thou alone, O God of my heart, fix all my desires ; be 
the centre of all my intentions, the term of all m} T affec- 
tions, O Lord, in the happy obligation under which I am 
of serving Thee, as a law from which I cannot dispense 
myself. Oh happy necessity ! that constrains me, either 
to glorify Thee voluntarily in this world, by a holy and 
Christian life, or to glorify Thee eternally, in spite of 
nryself, in hell : either to repair Thy gloiy by my conversion, 
or to repair it by my reprobation ; either to exalt Thy 
mercy b}' my penance or to exalt Thy justice by eternal 
tears. I no longer deliberate. I will reform my conduct ; 
I will seek no satisfaction but in Thee ; I will give to my 
affections no other end. I will have no desire but to 
possess Thee, no fear but to lose Thee. I am in this world 
only to love Thee and to serve Thee : I will begin from this 
day to fulfil a duty so essential and so indispensable. I 
will return Thee love for love, attention for attention, and 
since, from eternity, Thou hast thought of me and 



ON THE END OF A C II I? r ST I AN 11 

booorest Thy vile creature so far as to wish her for 
Thyself alone, so far as to be jealous of her desires and 
affections, of her whole heart, I will not cease to glorify 
Thee by my conduct ; to refer every action to Thee, to 
concentrate nryself in Thee, and to live and die only for 
Thee, Who on earth, as in heaven, can alone promote my 
good, my eternal felicity. 



FIRST DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION. OX THE END OF A CHRISTIAN. 

First Point. 

"The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou 
serve." Matth. iv., 10. 

Such is the law which God engraved upon my soul at 
the very moment He created me. In the first instant of 
my birth, He sealed me, as it were, with His seal, and 
consecrated me to His glory ; but this indispensable 
obligation of serving Him alone has increased with my 
age, and has become as essential as my existence. This 
necessary obligation, which I contracted at my birth, 
became voluntary by the sacred engagements I formed 
by the mouth of my sponsors at baptism, and which I 
afterwards freely ratified. Since that happy moment, 
which consecrated me forever to the Supreme Being 
when I vowed to adore and serve Him, I belong to Him, 
and He has a right to say to me, as He said to Jacob and 
Israel ; — "You are mine." Consequently He ought to be 
the soul of all my thoughts, the motive of all my actions, 
the object of all my homages, the centre of all my desires, 
the term of all my steps, and the rule of all my couduct. 
"You are mine." — Yes, Lord, and I should have Thee 
always present before my eyes, always imprinted in my 
mind, always engraved in my heart ; I should prefer Thee 
to everything, and sacrifice everything for Thee, dearest 
Lord. Being the principle of m} r actions, it is just that 



12 ON THE END OF A CHRISTIAN. 

Thou shouldst be the end of them ; Thou hast produced 
them by Thy love, they should be sacrificed to Thy glory ; 
I should act only according to Thy will and never resist 
Thy hand, which always works good in my soul, which 
often turns away the evil it sometimes permits but never 
wills. Thou shouldst not only be the end of all my 
actions as the principle of my existence, as the Sovereign 
Being Who dost possess its plentitude, as the first begin- 
ning of all the movements of my heart, and of that liberty 
even with which Thou hast formed them ; but as Head of 
the Church of which, through the choice of Thy predilec- 
tion, Thou hast made me a member b} T holy Baptism. By 
all these titles all my actions, even the most indifferent, 
should be for Thee alone. 

How holy and perfeet would be the conduct of a soul 
penetrated and incessantly occupied with these truths, 
which form the elements of our religion ! How elevated 
they are above the thoughts of the children of men, who 
living in the forgetfulness of God, are guilty at least of a 
criminal inaction ! "They have turned aside from their 
end," says the prophet, and therefore have become useless. 
Then, all that 1 have done in my life for any other end 
than God, has been of no merit for me; even if I had 
performed miracles, God not having been the end of 
them, it would all be only vanity, and vanity of vanities. 
Overwhelming reflection. 

Second Point. 

I am confounded, when I con/pare my conduct with my 
duties. Made for God alone, I have given myself up to 
exterior things and sensible objects. How much time, 
therefore, have I lost ! What a frightful void in my life ! 
How many graces I have wasted ! How often have I 
abused the merits of Jesus Christ ! How few merits 
I have acquired before God, and how many talents I 
have buried ! In a word, how little I have lived, since I 
have lived so little for my last end, since I have reflected 
so seldom upon the reason of my existence, have corre- 
sponded so badly to the designs of God's mercy upon my 
soul ! Ah ! I have most frequently acted without reflection 



ON THE END OF A CHRISTIAN 13 

and without principle ; therefore, instead of the care, 
fidelity, and zeal, ardor, and generous sentiments which I 
should have shown in the service of God, I have evinced, 
only baseness, negligence, tepidity, infidelity, languor, 
and insensibility, inutility and iniquity. Behold the 
history of my life. I blush at my conduct, O my 
God, and desire to reform it. Henceforth, I will use 
exterior objects, only as means to go to Thee, instead 
of reposing in them as my centre. I will no longer seek 
the creature but in Thee, or rather, I will ask myself 
in all my actions or projects, what relation they have to 
Thee and to eternity. In all things I will only act 
according to Thee, O Lord ; I will no longer see, hear, or 
do anything, either agreeable or disagreeable, but with 
a view of uniting myself to Thee. Thy spirit shall 
actuate and animate me. Jealous to please only Thee, I 
will rise above human respect. I will apply myself to 
do well all that I do,* because I know that whatever is 
done for Thee, should be done perfectly ; that is, with 
exactitude, fervor and perseverance, through an interior 
spirit and principle of religion. Such are my resolutions, 
O my God ! My tongue shall have no expressions, my 
heart no sentiment, my mind no faculties, my body no 
movement, my soul no operation, my life no duration, but 
to consecrate all to Thee. I will have no care but that of 
knowing Thy divine will, no occupation but to accom- 
plish it ; no zeal but for the interests of Thy glory, no ardor 
but to surmount all the difficulties, to brave all the 
obstacles, to make all the sacrifices, which Thy service 
and my holy state require. But, O my God, the sad 
experience of the past, makes me fear for the future, 
unless Thou reform the levity of my mind and the instabil- 
ity of my heart. Preserve my soul from the misfortune of 
again forgetting my last end. May I repair my past 
losses by paying Thee the most perfect homage, and by 
attaching myself to Thee inviolably and forever. 



14 ON THE END OF THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 

FIRST DAY. 

CONFERENCE. — ON THE END OF THE RELIGIOUS STATE, 

" The Lord Lath chosen thee this day, to be His peculiar 
people." Deutr. xxvi., 18. 

St. Francis de Sales, has perfectly interpreted to his 
dear daughters these words of the Lord to the Israelites : 
" Your only end," says he, "is to be united to God as 
Jesus Christ is united to His Father." By this union I 
do not mean that which unites all christians to God by 
Baptism ; a union by which all may justly tend to heaven 
and attain their end by the general and spacious way of 
the commandments. But for you, my dear daughters, this 
is not so; for besides this common obligation which you 
have with all christians, God, through a special love, has 
chosen you to be His dear spouses. Now, do you wish to 
know what it is to be the spouse of your God, that is to 
say, a religious? It is to be united to Him by the con- 
tinual mortification of yourselves ; it is to live only for 
Him ; your heart, your tongue, your eyes, your hands, and 
all the rest, continually serving His divine Majesty." 

According to these precious maxims, what should be 
the end of a daughter of St. Francis of Sales? A union 
with God so perfect that He alone would be the universal 
object and constant end of all her movements. A worthy 
Religious of the Visitation should then refer to God all 
the thoughts of her mind, all the desires of her heart, all 
the exterior and interior movements of her powers, in a 
word, all her actions, and should refer them to Him with 
all possible ardor, zeal, and perseverance. She should 
regard our Lord as the object, the term, and the end of 
all her inclinations, and attach herself to Him by a 
perfect devotedness, so that nothing could be able to 
separate her from Him. This is saying too little. To use 
the expressions of her holy founder, she should be united 
to God, as Jesus Christ is united to His father. Thus, 
the union which her mind should have with God, does not 
merely consist in tnmking of Him, in being occupied with 



ON THE END OF THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 15 

Him, but also in having, as Jesus Christ had with His 
father, but one same thought with Him, that is, in think- 
ing of all things as He thought of them, in esteeming 
only what He esteemed, in despising only what He 
despised, and in entering perfectly into all His senti- 
ments. 

In like manner the union of a religious soul with her 
God, does not consist merely in consecrating her affec- 
tions to Him, in desiring His glory, His kingdom, His 
possessions, but also in having with Him, as Jesus Christ 
had with His father, but one same will; in willing in all 
things what He wills, and in never willing what He does 
not will ; in being so strongly attached to His will that 
nothing is capable of leading her to withdraw from it, to 
follow her own or that of creatures. 

Finally, the union of all her other powers with God 
does not consist only in simply acting for Him, but also, 
like Jesus Christ with His Father, in having but one same 
action with Him; that is in applying herself only to the 
things which He has imposed on her, to the duties which 
He has prescribed for her, to labor at them, and to fulfil 
them in concert with Him ; to apply herself with such zeal, 
fidelity and constancy, that nothing will be capable of 
making her abandon them, or cool her ardor. In a word 
all the spiritual life, all perfection, the end of her state 
consists in the most intimate union of her mind, her 
heart, all her powers with God, having with Him but one 
same thought, one same will, one same operation, and in 
some manner but one same being, by an entire and 
perfect transformation into Him, which causes her to 
pass, so to say, into the divine unity, which confounds, 
hides, loses her in God with Jesus Christ. Such is the 
contract she has made with the Lord ; such is the end of 
her state in the mind of God, Who has called her to it, and 
of the Church, that has opened to her the way ; such are 
the views she herself should have had in entering holy 
religion. According to these incontestable principles 
" a true daughter of the Visitation," says St. Francis of 
Sales, " is a soul- who has no spirit but that of Jesus 
Christ j who lives in the most intimate union with God, in 
the most perfect abnegation of herself, in the most pro- 



Ig ON THE END OF THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 

found lowliness and abjection, in her own eves ; in the 
most tender charity and peace with her neighbor." St. 
Chantal says: "she is a soul who is detached from her 
self to be united in everything to her God ; who crucifies 
her will, her judgment, her inclinations, to conform to 
God ; who corrects her imperfections, to approach nearer 
and nearer to Him ; who makes Him her sovereign desire, 
her only love, as He is her happiness and her life ; a 
soul whose affections and will God possesses exclusively." 
Thus, a truly worthy daughter of the Institute is a soul 
dead to the world and to herself, united to Jesus Christ 
crucified, consecrated by her state, and devoted by affec- 
tion to His love and service. Disengaged from the cares 
and passions of the world, she has no mind or heart but 
for God ; attached by indissoluble bonds to Him Whom 
she has chosen for her spouse, she has no other ambition 
than to please and follow Him. In the desire of resem- 
bling Him she makes poverty her riches ; obedience her 
will ; mortification her pleasure ; abjection her glory ; the 
Cross her joy and her triumph. Behold the general end 
of her life ; but what are its details ? 

Sometimes in the sweet silence of solitude, entirely 
removed from the world, she acknowledges and blesses 
the divine mercy, which has separated her from that mass 
of corruption, and drawn her from that cursed land which 
is entirely under the power of the spirit of darkness. 
She laments the sad condition of blind worldlings, and 
through a charitable zeal, offers for them her prayers 
and her life. 

Sometimes, nourishing bei so\ri with pious meditation, 
she reflects upon the promises she has made to God, and 
reanimates herself in His service. She laments her weak- 
nesses, seeks and finds a remedy for her ills. She rises 
even to the abode of the saints, contemplates there what 
her illustrious founders, the heroines of her Institute 
have clone for God, and at the sight of the glory which 
crowns them, she is animated to walk in their footsteps. 
She remembers the eternal years, and detaches herself 
more and more, from all that is perishable. She hears 
and answers the voice of God, who daily asks of her 
some new sacrifice as a proof of her love, and takes it 



ON THE END OF THE RELIGIOUS STATE. I7 

upon Himself to be the reward of her combats in His 
service. There, in the delights of contemplation or in the 
aridities of meditation, where she receives the holy 
favors and enjoys the tender and intimate communications 
of God, or is purified by dryness of heart and anxieties of 
mind, she seeks only to know better the designs of God 
over her, and to correspond to His preventing grace. She 
applies herself to consult only the movements of the 
Heart of her Spouse that, thereby, she may regulate her 
own. She has no attachment but for her duties ; no 
desire nor ardor, but for the sacred Banquet to which 
divine Love invites her. These are her sentiments ; this 
is her conduct. 

Subject to the rule, she edifies others by her example 
and animates them by her fervor. She is always com- 
posed in her exterior, modest in her looks, and even in 
the tone of her voice ; simple in her manners; even in 
her humor ; moderate in her action ; wise and religious in 
all her proceedings ; humble without affectation ; grave 
without ostentation ; serious without constraint ; gay 
without levity ; condescending without weakness ; chari- 
table without distinction ; devout without singularity ; 
fervent without eagerness ; affable and obliging. She is 
punctual to the community hours, exact in the observance 
of the Rule ; promptly and respectfully submissive to the 
orders of her superiors. In a word, faithful to all her 
duties, there is nothing humiliating in the service of God 
to which she does not aspire, nothing abject to which she 
does not abase herself, nothing elevated to which she does 
not tend. She has passions only to overcome them ; 
pleasures only to sacrifice them ; obligations only to fulfil 
them ; she fears to show herself almost as much as to sin, 
and she fears to sin much more than to die. Her heart is 
the sanctuary of virtue, her mouth the interpreter of truth, 
and her whole conduct the faithful impression of the life 
of Jesus Christ. 

What reflections should a Religious of the Visitation 
make upon this portrait ! In it she must, indeed, recognize 
the spirit of her holy founder. There is no other way for 
her to attain her last end ; therefore she must follow it. 
" You then see clearly," says St. Francis de Sales, " the 



18 ON THE END OF THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 

end you should have in view, in order to be a worthy 
spouse of our Lord. Live then all your life, perform all 
your actions, form yourself from day to day according to 
this end, and God will bless you." 

I know, she should say to herself, what God wills of 
me, and what I owe Him ; I know what my salvation and 
my state require. I will labor seriously at the reformation 
of my conduct, that I may not be condemned at the hour 
of my death, by the sanctity of my state and the benefits of 
my God. What is there in me Lord, which could lead 
Thee to consider me as something, and how have I attract- 
ed Thy goodness ! Why then should I not follow the spirit 
of my vocation? Why should I not correspond to it by 
conduct worthy of Thy grace? Thy will having placed me 
in the religious state, Thy mercy will not refuse me 
wherewith to assure my solid happiness. Thy justice and 
goodness are engaged to support me, if I walk in the path 
Thy wisdom has traced for me. Strengthen my will, O 
Lord, animate my confidence, and assist my labors. I 
will no longer occupy myself with anything but my last 
end. I will redouble my steps in order to repair lost time, 
and to return into the way from which I have deviated. 
I will apply myself more than ever to profit by the 
treasures which Thou hast confided to me with so much 
liberality ; b}' the favors which Thou hast lavished on me 
without interruption ; by the beneficent dispositions of Thy 
heart towards me ; by the desire which Thou hast for 
my real happiness ; and by the many graces which I have 
cast from me by my infidelities. My gratitude and my 
constancy shall be Thy joy ; al)^ my days shall be occupied 
by the remembrance of Thy benefits, and sanctified by 
the use which I will make of them. Bless, O Lord, my 
present determination, and let it find in the salutary gifts 
of Thy grace, all that can shelter it from my former 
vicissitudes, that as Thou hast chosen me to be Thy par- 
ticular child, Thou mayst be more particularly my God. 



ON MORTAL SIN. 19 

SECOND DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. — ON MORTAL SIN. 

First Point. 

"The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed; because 
His commiserations have not failed." — Jer. Lament., hi., 22. 

With what eye can a religious .look upon mortal sin, 
which kills the soul, closes heaven and opens hell to her? 

O Spouse of Jesus Christ, shudder at the sight of this 
sovereign evil, whose abomination occasioned the death of 
your divine Spouse, caused His blood to flow and renews 
the bitterness of His passion ; whose perpetration is the 
most formal contempt of His authority, the most outrageous 
abolition of His merits, the most criminal profanation of 
His benefits, the most unworthy preference of the creature, 
of satan himself, to the divine Majesty. It is a sin 
enormous in its extent, and, like the demon whose name 
Jesus asked, and who was called legion, it is a monster 
composed of a thousand others. It is at the same time a 
revolt against God, against a friend, against a king ; 
disobedience to a father, ingratitude to a Saviour ; an 
adultery which dishonors a spouse, a crime against a 
benefactor, a sacrilege which sullies the temple of the Holy 
Ghost. It is a deicide like that of the Jews ; it not only 
attacks the body of Jesus, but His power of which it 
wishes to deprive Him ; it would also rob Him of His wis- 
dom ; it abuses His goodness, irritates His justice, wearies 
His patience, insults His liberality, annihilates His Cross 
and His love. Enormous sin, if we look on it with the eyes 
of God ! It outrages all His perfections ; it would even 
destroy His being, were it possible ; it wishes that God had 
no power to punish it, no justice to will its punishment, no 
wisdom to know it ; it wishes that there should be no God, 
since it would despoil Him of His perfections, without 
which He could not be God. It is a sin, which annihilates 
all mysteries, offends the three persons of the Holy Trinity, 
the authority of the Father, the wisdom of the Son, and the 



20 OK MORTAL SIN. 

love of the Holy Ghost ; which annuls the Incarnation of 
the Word, rendering absolutely useless in its essence and 
principle the love with which Jesus Christ so loved the 
world that He gave Himself for it. It breaks, or, at least, 
renders imperfect the personal union of God with man, by 
separating man from God. In fine, it is a sin which, 
according to the Apostle, crucifies Jesus Christ anew, 
because it renews the cause of His death. It is a more 
frightful cross to our divine Saviour than the first, which 
was a cross of pain, whilst this is, if I may say so, 
a cross of sin. The first was the effect of the ignorance 
of the Jews, for, had they known Him, they would not 
have crucified Him ; whereas the latter is the effect of the 
barbarity of christians who know Him to be their God 
and, at the same time, crucify Him. The first cross was 
to effect the salvation of men, whereas this prevents that 
salvation and renders useless the life, sufferings and death 
of Jesus Christ. Our Saviour seems to feel this so much 
that He complains of it by the mouth of the prophet, 
saying : kt What will then become of My blood and what 
utility will they derive from My sacrifice?" This sin 
deprives the soul of God, Who is her sovereign good, and 
obliges this tender Father to abandon the work of His 
predilection, as having become the object of His hatred 
and malediction. It strips the soul of all grace, destroys 
all merit, annihilates all virtue, renders useless all good 
works. The sinner no longer deserves that the earth 
should bear him, the air serve him to breathe, or nature 
supply his wants, because he has abused all these things 
to offend their common Creator/ Who had granted him the 
use of them. He deserves to lose his mind, his body and 
his whole being, because he has employed against his God 
an existence that was given him only for God's glory, 
and if he still preserves it, it is only to make him suffer 
the punishment to which God's justice condemns him. 

Consider the dreadful chastisement, which the divine 
vengeance has exercised and will exercise upon sin until 
the end of ages. It was the avenging wrath of God, 
thundering against sin, that hurled from the highest 
heavens into the bottom of the abyss, the angels, guilty 
of a single thought of pride, without giving them time to 



ON MORTAL SW. 21 

repent; which drove the first man from paradise, stripped 
him of all the privileges of original justice and condemned 
him, with all his posterity, to death. It was the terrible 
justice of an offended God that drowned the whole world 
under the waters of the deluge, that rained fire upon 
criminal cities, that armed the exterminating angel against 
the first-born of the children of Egypt; that filled the 
desert with serpents, that swallowed up the children of 
Aaron in the bosom of the earth and, in fine, has caused 
us to be born children of wrath, subject to all the 
calamities of this life, excluded from the kingdom of 
heaven and eternal happiness. It has enkindled those 
avenging flames, which are prepared for an eternity of 
torments, an eternity of pain, which alone, alas ! can 
avenge God, and is, perhaps, too light for the malice of a 
single mortal sin. 

But if such are the terrible consequences of the sins of 
men in general, what must be those of the sins of a 
religious? "The heathen sins as a man," says St. 
Bernard, "but the soul Consecrated to God sins as an 
augel, because she sins with more malice, having received 
more light." The heathen is an enemy already judged, 
says Jesus Christ, because he does not believe ; but the 
soul loaded with special graces is a friend who, by sinning, 
brings abomination into the holy place, as the angel did 
in heaven. Therefore, God formerly required that as 
many sacrifices of expiation should be offered Him for 
the sin of one soul consecrated to His altar, as would 
have been offered for a whole nation. For this reason, 
Jesus said to Pilate, speaking of Judas: "He who de- 
livered Me up to you has committed a greater sin than 
you, because he was My disciple." Thus He has a right 
to say to a religious guilty of mortal sin: "They who 
offend Me in the world, outrage Me, it is true, but they 
offend with less ingratitude and malice than you, who 
dare to insult Me in the very house where I lavish upon 
you all My treasures, in the sacred abode, where I sur- 
round you with all that can inspire you with My fear and 
love, in My sanctuary, where I leave with you the 
treasure of My adorable blood ; therefore, }'Ou are no 
longer but an object of horror to Me, so much the more 



22 . OX MORTAL StN. 

hateful, as I see you in the midst of My people. I will 
avenge Myself upon you as a God ; your heart shall become 
more and more hardened, compunction shall not reside 
there, piety shall not soften it, threats shall not intimidate 
it, it shall become deaf to M37 voice. I will give it up to 
its irregular desires, to the error of its thoughts. Forget- 
ting the dignity of your engagements, you will make rapid 
progress in the path into which you have stra}-ed. I will 
avenge by your blindness, the profanation you make of 
My most special graces in a region of innocence and 
sanctity, and from the land of the saints where you dwell, 
I will at length precipitate you with the demons into the 
lowest depths of hell, for all eternity. 

Second Point. 

Alas ! O my God, what resources remains to me in the 
frightful danger to which I see myself exposed? The 
multitude and grievousness of my offenses overwhelm me 
with their weight. Enter not into judgment, O Lord, 
with Thy servant, for nothing can justify me in Thy sight. 
Oh ! that I had the hearts of the greatest penitents, the 
hearts of all men, to be penetrated with a sorrow such 
as m}' sins deserve ! Oh, that I could weep da}' and night 
over the sins I have committed since my baptism, alas ! 
since my entrance into religion. Oh, that I could wash 
them away by the shedding of my blood ! How great is 
Thy mercy, O God, which has hitherto prevented n^ 
falling into that gulf, where eternal and unavailing tears 
are shed ! The rebellious angels are expiating in those 
burning furnaces a thought of pride, punished as soon as 
committed, or rather, conceived ; have I not merited the 
same torments even more than they ? Do they not seem 
to have a right to reproach Thee with Thy patience in my 
regard, by exposing to Thee the details of my life and 
saying: "Eternal Providence, what have we done in 
comparison with this religious, guilty of so many iniqui- 
ties? Thou hast left her on earth, giving her time, a 
Mediator, graces, the assistance of a retreat ; Thou 
watchest over her as a father and she will again, perhaps, 
abuse so manv benefits? Ah ! if we had had some one of 



OX MORTAL SIN. 23 

these favors which Thou lavishest on her ! But no ! Thou 
hast treated us in all the rigor of Thy justice ! Where, 
then, is justice? Strike, if Thou art just, strike with the 
same sword a soul more criminal than w r e." 

I acknowledge, Lord, that I cannot but approve the 
reasons which these reprobate blasphemers have to demand 
my damnation, or to complain of theirs, if, at the same 
time, Father of mercies and God of vengeance, Thou 
hadst not been as merciful tome, as Thou hast been just 
to them. May the sight of Thy mere}' towards me inspire 
me with gratitude and love ! May the sight of Thy prompt 
justice towards them inspire me with fear ! Ah ! can I 
ever again offend a God, so severe and so good? No, 
Lord, I will embrace penance, that compound of Thy mercy 
and justice ; a contrite and humble heart will much more 
exalt Thy glory and justify Thy judgments than all the 
blows which Thy vengeance could deal upon me. I will 
unceasingly recall my offenses to punish them. Thou art 
just and Thy judgments are just; I fear them. If Thou 
reprehend me in Thy wrath, what glory will redound to 
Thee by my damnation ? When Thou shalt have stricken 
the dust, will the dust contribute to Thy glory? Thy 
justice, by avenging Thy blood which I have profaned 
will be satisfied, but would it not be still more so by my 
pardon, by which will be applied to me the merits of the 
precious blood Thou hast shed for me? Thou wilt be 
glorified by my tears and penance. Thou, Thyself, tell- 
est me that if I do penance for the crimes I have commit- 
ted, Thou wilt repent of the vengeance Thou hadst resolved 
to inflict upon me. These words may appear unworthy 
of Thy majesty to those who know not Thy goodness, 
but as for me, far from abusing Thy kind indulgence, 
I will thereby animate myself to contrition. This thought 
will render sweet and light, the very rigor of penance, 
whose shadow alone has, heretofore, alarmed me. The 
remembraace of Thy mercy will enkindle in me a lively 
ardor to offer Thee daily some new satisfaction. 

I will immolate upon the altar of penance the double 
holocaust of my mind and heart, to avenge Thy glory for 
my past outrages and to be restored to the rights of Thy 
faithful children. I will embrace with resignation all that 



24 OV MORTAL sm. 

can humble me, to expiate the faults I have committed by 
my pride. I will excuse and bear with my neighbor to re- 
pair my detractions and calumnies, my dissatisfactions 
and murinurings. I will not be troubled at grievous 
events, but profit by them to pay my debts. I will repair 
my dissipation by recollection and silence ; my self-love 
by mortification ; nrj tepidity by regularity. I will never 
complain of what may be disagreeable to my taste, pain- 
ful to my heart, contrary to my mind, crucifying to my 
body, because I have deserved to be drenched with the 
gall of the asp and the wine of the wrath of God in the 
very depths of hell. I will deprive myself of all sensible' 
satisfaction, there being no longer any lawful or innocent 
pleasures for a soul so guilty as mine, This cry, "I 
have sinned!" which shall come incessantly from my 
heart, will make me endure everything with peace and 
gratitude, regulate and mortify my senses, combat my 
passions, subdue my inclinations, renounce my judgment 
and rm T will, neglecting nothing to redeem myself by the 
sufferings of this life from the torments of eternity. 

Such are my resolutions, O my God, and, if I am unfaith- 
ful, punish me Thyself by humiliation, disgrace, sickness, 
dryness, disgust, privation, interior and exterior pains. 
If T ever willingly relapse into mortal sin, over which I 
wish to weep all nry life, may the earth swallow me up, 
the sun refuse me its light, and tire its warmth ; may all 
creatures rise up against me. Oh my God, sustain me in 
the sentiments which Thy grace has produced, rather let 
me die a thousand times than ever offend Thee by a 
single mortal sin. / 



Ojst venial sm. 25 

SECOND DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. — ON VENIAL SIN. 

First Point. 

" They that love the Lord, will keep His way."— Eccles. 18. 

It is not enough, particularly for a religious who 
makes a special profession of loving God, to have a 
horror of the sin that offends Him mortally. She must 
also avoid with extreme care every thing that can dis- 
please Him. She should not even make a distinction 
between sin and sin, between offense and offense, for can 
a generous and feeling heart consider as a trifle what 
wounds its blood? Can a religious soul look with indif- 
ference upon a sin that afflicts the heart, and excites the 
jealousy of her divine Spouse? 

Jealousy in the creature is unjust, because it appropri- 
ates to itself what was not made for it ; but in Jesus 
Christ, it is justice, because every thing and especially 
the religious soul belongs to Him. It is also mercy, for 
why is He so jealous, especially of the purity of this soul? 
Will He be happier on account of it? No, — but she 
cannot be happy without this purity, and He wishes to 
associate her to His own happiness. But as nothing defiled 
can enter the kingdom of heaven, His glory seems 
diminished in His own eyes, as He sees her hastening to 
destruction. 

What a subject of bitterness for the iove of Jesus 
Christ is a religious, who would not commit great sins, 
but who makes no scruple of committing slight ones, or 
what she calls slight ; who satisfies her inclinations, 
provided they are not manifestly sinful ; who passes her 
times of meditation in a voluntary languor of mind 
who approaches the Sacraments without fervor and with- 
out fruit ; who no longer seeks to please God and advance 
in virtue ; who, always dissipated and distracted, no 
longer listens to the inspirations of grace, what does He 



26 ON VENIAL SIN. 

think of one who obeys her rule through constraint, or 
human respect ; who entertains not too tender, but too 
natural friendships ; who occupies herself, not with read- 
ings that corrupt the heart, but that amuse the mind ; 
who does not wish to violate her vow of obedience, but 
delays to ask ; interprets, supposes, or abuses the consent 
of superiors ; who counts for a little thing a marked 
resentment, a deliberate untruth, an act of sloth, a volun- 
tary negligence, a thought of vanity wilfully entertained, 
a sensuality, an impatience manifested, a jealousy de- 
clared, a malicious joke, a slight detraction. What does 
He think of one who, says to herself and to others : " It 
is only a venial sin, it is only weakness!" O deceitful 
and fatal language ! 

Venial sin cannot be a slight evil since it is an offence 
against God. It is a want of respect for His majesty, and 
an indifference for His goodness, a contempt for His 
sanctity, a want of submission to His law. Jesus Christ 
has so great, so essential an opposition to this sin that 
He can cease to be God sooner than cease to hate it. It 
deprives the soul of a new grace she would have received, 
of a degree of glory she might have acquired, of a degree 
of love that the heart of God would have conceived for 
her. Even the lightness of the matter renders it in some 
manner less excusable. Does not the sincerity and 
delicacy of friendship appear in small services? Do 
we rely much on the sentiments of those who limit 
them to not deeply insulting their friends? They are but 
weaknesses, she says. Can she consider as simple weak- 
nesses faults which attack the eternal greatness, the infinite 
majesty of God, faults, which, without the mercy of God, 
would merit an infinite and eternal punishment? 

The evil is not mortal, she says. Is there, then, no 
evil in the world but death? It is not mortal considered 
in itself, but does it not become so in its increase? St. 
Francis of Sales says, there is no venial sin which may not 
become mortal when neglected, because from this state 
of negligence one passes to contempt. Temptation comes, 
grace is weakened, and, from a little fault, one falls as it 
were necessarily into a greater, sometimes by way of 
inclination, often by way of disposition, and again, by way 



otf YEfriAL sm. 27 

of punishment. By way of inclination : one is accustomed, 
by degrees, to see danger without fear, and light faults 
with indifference then in a critical moment, the devil mak- 
ing a last effort, the heart, already moved and softened, 
hesitates, and yields. The arrow is shot, the abyss is open, 
and the soul falls into it. What rapidity in the progress 
of evil ! First languor, then weakness followed by indif- 
ference, and finally, the depth of misfortune, the loss of 
the soul. 

By way of disposition : venial sin insensibly and 
gradually cools fervor, obscures the interior light, causes 
the joy and unction of the Holy Ghost to disappear, 
destro} T s a relish and inclination for heavenly things, 
weakens faith, eclipses charity, dissipates attention and 
vigilance. The eternal truths no longer make any 
impression. The soul, having thus become weak and 
blind, is in a disposition to yield on dangerous occasions, 
and is almost always overcome on the first. 

B3' way of punishment : what is the tacit language of a 
soul that does not wish to avoid venial sin ? She says : 
u Such a thing displeases God, but I do not care," or, " I 
know not if it will displease God, but I will not examine 
it". . . .; her indifference necessarily causes that of 
our Lord. No more special Providence over her, no more 
particular protection, no more care to withdraw her from 
great temptations, dangerous occasions ; no more strong- 
graces in pressing needs ! This subtraction of grace is the 
cause of a more grievous fall ; it leads to a fatal step, and 
thence, often, to reprobation. Hence, if the greatest 
sinner becomes a saint, when careful not to sin deliber- 
ately, the greatest saint becomes a sinner, when she allows 
herself habitually to commit faults with deliberate malice. 

We hear of the dreadful judgments of God, of those 
thundering blows that overturn the cedars of Libanus and 
make the stars fall from heaven. We are alarmed, but 
often these judgments are not so deep as we think. The 
religious soul that was thought so wise, so regular, who 
had fulfilled all her employments with approbation, makes 
a scandalous fall. Go back to the source. For a long 
time, her relaxations in the service of God, her numerous 
venial sins prepared the great Judge to deprive her of His 



28 ON VENIAL SIN. 

special protection in the evil day. A soul truly generous 
and faithful to her God, would not have experienced such 
a disaster. Rarely does a religious attentive to avoid 
venial sin fall into mortal faults, but a religious, who 
is negligent about light offenses, always falls into more 
grievous sins. 

Second Point. 

Alas ! Lord, how little have I understood these truths 
which faith teaches me ! What is my life weighed in 
the scales of the sanctuary? A tissue of faults ; levity of 
the tongue, vanity of the mind, want of charity, rash 
judgments, loss of time, sensuality, jealousy, resentment, 
and curiosity. I do not yield to anger, but am I not 
often bitter, morose, and impatient? Am I not attached 
to the things that I use ? I fiollow my rule, but is it not 
with tepidity, and without the interior spirit? I confess 
often, but is it not without amendment? My com- 
munions are frequent, but are they the more fervent? 
I perform my exercises, I assist at the meditations, but is 
it not without preparation, without love, without inten- 
tion, or through habit? Do I not limit my obedience to 
capital points and dispute incessantly between counsel 
and precept? What an illusion I have made to myself, 
perhaps, in certain matters, where the limits of good and 
evil touch so closely, and where it is so difficult to discern 
the point which separates venial from mortal sin ! How 
often have I considered as light those inconsiderate looks, 
those rising desires, those dangerous thoughts, in which 
the heart, floating, as it were, between the sentiment and 
the consent, cannot discern what is or is not, what it 
fears or what it loves, what it seeks or what it rejects ! 
How often have I considered as light, cutting railleries, 
pointed detractions, which have left bleeding wounds in 
the heart of my neighbor ? Alas ! how far might I not 
cany this detail. But what makes me tremble is that I 
have considered these faults so small. 

How can I call little a sin that resists the will of 
God, despises His law, obscures His light in my soul? 
A sin that deprives God of more glory than all my holiest 
actions, services, and homages. . . what do I say ! . . . 



ON VENIAL SIN. 29 

of more than all saints, all creatures, have been able to 
give Him by their adorations and sacrifices. 

How can I call light a sin which, as it offends God, 
is the evil of God, and so great an evil that the desolation 
of the whole earth and the ruin of the world, the destruction 
of all men and angels cannot be compared to it? 

How can I call light a sin that becomes so much more 
considerable for me, as it directly combats grace and the 
end of my vocation ? which places the greatest obstacle 
to my perfection, and for which the voluntary affection 
and liabit in me is a mortal sin ? Are not trifles on the 
lips of seculars blasphemies in a religious? Does it 
suffice for me to renounce all that can separate me from 
God? Ought I not by my state to draw aside the 
lightest cloud that could hide from me His presence ? 

How can I call light a sin which, it is true, does not 
withdraw sanctifying grace, but tarnishes its splendor? 
which weakens, and diminishes the actual grace that 
enables me to avoid dangerous occasions? a sin which 
prevents, or renders useless, the assistance which God 
destines for my perseverance? a sin which does not efface 
in me, it is true, the image of God, but obscures it? which 
causes not the death of my soul, but which gives it a 
wound that, if neglected, may become mortal? which, if 
it does not separate me from God, cools His love for me ; 
if it does not exclude me from heaven, places me at a 
distance from it? which if it does not cause my damna- 
tion, leads to it? 

How can I call light a sin which God has punished in 
so terrible a manner in His most faithful servants? In 
Moses, whom for a slight mistrust He excluded from 
the promised land ; in David, whom for a slight vanity 
He afflicted with terrible scourges ; in Ezechias, that holy 
king of Israel, whom for an indiscreet complacency, He 
punished even to the third generation ; in Saul, whom, for 
reserving, contrary to His orders, some of the spoils of 
the Amalekites, and offering sacrifice on the seventh day 
without waiting for the prophet, He rejected ; in Osa, and in 
the twenty- five thousand Bethsamites, the first for daring 
to support the Ark of the Covenant, the second for 
looking, although with respect, upon it. 



30 ON VENIAL SIN. 

In fine, how can I call light a sin, for which so many 
souls whom God loves and who love Him are now burn- 
ing in the flames of purgatory? And do I not experience 
myself the punishment which God exercises upon religious 
souls, who are base enough to commit voluntary venial 
sins? Do I not feel that subtraction of graces, which 
are almost necessary for my salvation? Do I not feel 
the terrible consequences of the indifference, which causes 
God to abandon me to the course of a general Provi- 
dence? Has He any longer over me that special Provi- 
dence, which produces within me those particular graces that 
secure salvation. Why, in a state so sanctifying as mine, 
am I so little advanced in virtue ? 

I acknowledge, my God, that I have stopped the 
course of Thy grace by my facility in committing what 
I considered only slight sins, and perhaps overturned 
the designs of Thy mercy for my perfection, but 
I acknowledge it with the most lively sentiments 
of sorrow. May I, during the remainder of my 
life, multiply my acts of contrition bej'ond the number 
of my sins. I firmly resolve never again deliberately 
to offend Thee. May this resolution be for me the 
beginning of a new life, a life exempt from sin, replete 
with virtues, and above all, with Thy love. How can a 
soul that makes profession of loving Thee deliberately 
say : " Yes, I know this action displeases God, yet I will 
do it." Does such conduct accord with Thy love? I 
will love Thee, my God, and then, I will sin no more, at 
least voluntarily ; for true love and the will to sin cannot 
dwell in the same heart. "Whoever loves God," says 
St. Chrysostom, " would prefer the flames of hell to the 
slightest offence against Him," and St. Augustine says 
he would rather be in hell without sin, than in heaven, 
with the least stain upon his soul. These great senti- 
ments will become mine ; but, Lord, there is no effica- 
cious resolution, no secure sanctity, if Thou withdraw Thy 
hand ; there is no strength that can support me, if Thou, 
Thyself, do not sustain me. Charitable physician of my 
soul, let Thy power uphold my weakness. May Thy zeal 
for my perfection enkindle mine. May Thy divine love 
strengten me in the way of Thy commandments ; may 



ON THE ABUSE OF GRACE. 31 

it render me prompt to accomplish all that is pleasing to 
Thee, and inflexible in never consenting to anything that 
can offend Thee. 



SECOND DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION. ON THE ABUSE OF GRACE. 

First Point. 

''And unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be 
required. " — Luke xii., 48. 

A religious has not only her sins to lament before God. 
The graces she receives from Him are as much to be 
feared for her as her iniquities ; or rather, her sins are so 
dreadful only on account of the graces which are lavished 
upon her. These graces are the voice of God which 
speaks to her heart, the divine breath which animates 
her soul, the ray of wisdom which enlivens her mind, the 
flame of love which excites her will, the sacred seed 
which ought to produce her sauctification, and be the 
principle of her salvation, and the fruitfuluess of favors, 
the price of the blood of Jesus Christ. By resisting 
grace, she stifles the voice of her God, she outrages His 
spirit, she becomes rebellious to His light, repulses the 
efforts of His love, renders sterile a divine seed, ruins the 
foundation of her salvation, tramples under foot the blood 
of Jesus Christ. 

By this want of correspondence to grace, she withdraws 
from the dominion that God has over her, a dominion 
absolute, universal, and eternal. God is not absolute in a 
heart that does not wish to submit to Him ; His empire is 
not universal in a soul that refuses what He demands. 
His reign is not eternal in a soul that, belonging some- 
times to Him, sometimes to herself, rejects His authority 
which is not less indivisible than the truth of His being. 
Thus, she opposes herself to the tender love of this bene- 
ficent God, Who inclines to do her good. By this want 
of correspondence, the unfaithful soul at length forces 



32 ON THE ABUSE OF GRACE. 

God to leave her, to oppose His justice to His mercy, by 
making her the object of His anger, having wished to 
make her the cherished object of His love. 

The dreadful chastisements are, first, the subtraction of 
the graces she has abused. This our Lord seems to declare 
under the figure of a vine: "I have planted," says He, 
"• a vine upon the declivity of a fertile mountain," that is 
to say, I have placed this soul in religion upon a 
mountain, elevated above the things of earth, where the 
abundance of My graces and the unction of My mercy 
flow with profusion. What have I not done to cultivate 
this vine and put it into a good state for bearing fruit? 
I have closed the avenues to those who passed by ; I 
have surrounded it with a ditch, with a living hedge ; I 
have taken away all the stones ; I have built a tower in 
the midst of it, to observe from all sides whatever could 
harm it ; I have constructed a press to make wine, that 
is, I have removed this soul from the world and from 
the occasions of sin j I have delivered her from temporal 
cares, I have surrounded her with interior and exterior 
helps; I have given her rules, constitutions, observ- 
ances to fulfil ; I have provided against all the obstacles 
that might prevent her increase in virtue. I have lavished 
on her talents, qualities, graces, inspirations, lights, 
sacraments, examples, and retreats. I have placed over 
her vigilant superiors ; I have imposed on her mortifica- 
tions, austerities, and all the means that could urge her 
to do well, and to express in an edifying life the precious 
liquid of virtues that embalms heaven and earth. What 
more could I do than I have done? " I hoped" continues 
our Lord, "that this vine would yield Me grapes, but I 
found none, or only bad ones. What, therefore, shall I 
do? I will abandon it, I will pluck it up, I will destroy 
the hedge, and it shall be pillaged ; I will throw down the 
wall, and they that pass by shall trample it under foot ; it 
shall be pruned and pressed no more ; thorns and briars 
shall grow there, and I will command the clouds of heaven 
to water it no more." That is to say, I hoped that this 
religious would correspond to my care, my love and my 
graces, but what do I receive from her? what does she 
produce? Scarcely a few good works performed with 



ON THE ABUSE OF GRACE. 33 

negligence, through base and human views. I find in 
her no solid virtue, no constancy in good, no relish for 
divine things. I find only imperfection in the observance 
of her vows, a false conscience under pretext of not 
being scrupulous, maxims of relaxation allied to confes- 
sions and communions, only a dead or dying faith. It is 
enough. Her little correspondence to my graces renders 
her unworthy of them. I will withdraw them, and will 
give her up to a reprobate sense. I will depnve her of 
my inspirations. I will use towards her the same 
measure she has used towards me ; I will render her 
indifference for indifference, contempt for contempt, 
neglect for neglect. I will not cause My common graces 
to fail her ; My providence shall be justified towards her; 
I will give her those ordinary graces, with which she may 
combat, and, notwithstanding which, she will be over- 
come. But, as for those special and choice graces, which 
are not due her and are not promised, those powerful and 
efficacious helps, which enable the soul to do the good 
that they show her, that move the will and lead to happy 
perseverance ; I will deprive her of them ; I will give 
them to others who will make better use of them. " It is 
a just punishment," says St. Francis of Sales, " that 
they who abuse grace should be deprived of it, and that 
they who will not do the good they know, should not 
know what is good." 

Consider the frightful state into which a religious 
falls, who is indocile to grace. She no longer knows the 
way she should go and walks in darkness, without seeing 
the goal towards which she tends. She no longer 
hears the voice of God, and refuses the sacrifices re- 
quired for the perfection of her state. She even makes to 
herself a false conscience, no longer studying its spirit 
and engagements. 

She does not examine the motive that animates her, 
for fear of being troubled at the sight of what she would be 
obliged to reform. She congratulates herself that she is 
not scrupulous or constrained. She takes credit to her- 
self for not being like those who aspire to a greater good. 
" We. must go simply," she says, "without cavilling 
about trifles. God is not so severe as to make a crime 



3-1- ON THE ABUSE OF GRACE. 

out of nothing. With what can I be reproached in the 
abuse, you say, I make of grace? Only some affection 
for earthly things, a slight attachment to little con- 
veniences, useless words, thoughts and looks, a simple 
curiosity which zeal excites, piety seeks, the love of my 
country or religion animates and sanctifies; a witty 
speech, a joke upon natural and well known defects. 
Cannot one be holy without continually restraining her- 
self ? Must we give up every pleasure ? No ! no ! that 
is not the voice of God, but the effect of a heated im- 
agination, which is taken for inspiration." 

Oh, how many religious have been seduced by this 
fatal reasoning ! How many have been lost ! For repro- 
bation is often a fatal consequence of the abuse of grace. 
Without doubt, God wishes to save all men, but He does 
not destine them all to the same degree of elevation and 
glory. In calling us to heaven He appoints us the place 
and rank which we are to occupy ; either we shall never 
enter there, or we shall have no other place or rank. In 
consequence, God prepares for us the graces we need, 
and proportions them to His designs over us, fixing their 
precise number. The only means of securing our salva- 
tion is to correspond to the helps He gives us, and of 
which He fixes the measure, that we may attain the degree 
of perfection which is to conduct us to the rank He 
destines for us in heaven. Otherwise, we miss our 
salvation and renounce the treasure of glory with which 
He wishes to enrich us in heaven. 

Shall a religious complain of the high perfection to 
which our Lord calls her and /which He requires of her? 
Ah ! would this not be to complain of the singular 
bounties He lavishes upon her? He demands of her so 
much sanctity, only that He may give her a more precious 
crown ; He wishes her to be more perfect, only that He 
may render her more glorious. He requires more fidelity, 
because He has more love for her. 

Second Point. 

How striking is this truth, O my God ! It is not enough 
for me not to be guilty of sin, even to be faithful to my 



ON THE ABUSE OF GRACE. 35 

state and its duties ; it is also necessary that this fidelity 
be full, and answer to the grace that inspires me. It is 
not enough that Thou find me at my last hour with my 
hands filled with good works ; they will be good in Thine 
eyes ouly inasmuch as they have the goodness Thou 
dost expect of them. It is not enough for me to omit 
nothing ; the character of my exactitude must correspond 
to the character of the graces with which Thou hast 
favored me. Otherwise my best works will bear no 
character of life, because they will be destitute of the 
fervor that is to merit for them the degree of sanctity to 
which I am called. 

My God ! how often have I frustrated the designs of 
Thy grace over my soul, and rendered myself more 
criminal than persons in the world, because Thou hast 
shown me more signal favors ! Thou didst expect from 
me high sanctity, singular gratitude, particular glory, 
and I have been rebellious to this destiny.* Thy anger 
has succeeded to Thy love, Thy justice to Thy mercy, 
sterility to fecundity. What remains to me in the sad 
state to which I see myself reduced ? What a subject of 
confusion for me ! How many delays, infidelities, revolts, 
and inspirations neglected, resolutions broken ! How 
many words of life heard without profit ! How many 
graces, of which I have rendered myself unworthy by the 
abuse I have made of those which would have won them 
for me ! Oh, if oniy I had been faithful, what a store 
I would now possess ! How many have I lost by my 
little attention to good works ! How often have I re- 
jected or stifled that divine seed, and prevented it from 
producing the fruits of justice and salvation which are 
attached thereto ! How often have I extinguished that 
bright light, that showed me the good I ought to do and 
the evil I ought to avoid, and deadened the sacred fire 
that warmed me ! Lo, to what a frightful indigence has 
negligence reduced my poor soul ! What purity, what 
innocence, what love would fill my heart if I had been 
faithful to the divine mercy ! Ah ! Lord, dost Thou not 
already exercise upon me that secret vengeance which, 
being invisible, is but the more dreadful? Thou dost 
punish my infidelities by the subtraction of Thy graces. 



36 ON THE ABUSE OF GRACE. 

I no longer experience certain attractions, certain sweet- 
nesses of Thy bounty, certain reproaches of my con- 
science, certain delights in Thy service. Where is the 
divine light that formerly illumined me ? Where are the 
holy desires that animated me? What has become of 
those sweet alarms? Nothing any longer troubles me, 
nothing moves me, rules, good examples, salutary advice, 
all split against the hardness of my heart. Alas ! have I 
not reason to think that the talents which Thou hast 
confided to me, and which I have rendered useless, have 
been taken from me and given to others who will 
profit by them? I see my sisters making daily progress 
in virtue, I see them advancing in the way of perfection. 
What recollection, regularity, obedience, mortification, 
meekness, humility and fervor they manifest ! Thou dust 
reward their fidelity, and punish my ingratitude. 

Must I then experience the chastisement of the unfaith- 
ful servant, who buried Thy talent? and the blindness of 
the faithless Jerusalem, which did not profit by Thy 
words, Thy holy visits? Oh my God, 1 willingly submit to 
Thy vengeance, but exercise upon me any other punish- 
ment ; however rigorous it may be, it will be for me a new 
favor. Strike ! I am willing for this, but strike as a Father, 
Who always remembers mercy ; strike as a judge if Thou 
wilt, but in that justice which never forgets mercy ; strike 
not in that hatred, which would cast me into hell. Wilt 
Thou then abandon me, O Lord ? I deserve it, but hast 
Thou not other punishments in the treasury of Thy divine 
anger? Why abandon me to my infidelities? Where are 
the bowels of Thy paternal goodness ? Where those mighty 
graces which the hardness of the most insensible hearts 
cannot resist? What has become of that zeal, that eager 
desire Thou hadst for my salvation ? I know that I have 
stopped the course of Thy grace, but have I dried up its 
inexhaustible source? Is it on my account or Thine own, 
that Thou art good? Thou wilt always be our Father, as 
long as Jesus Christ, Thy adorable Son, continues to be 
our brother. Behold His labors, listen to His cries, look 
upon His wounds. Why harden my heart? Why take 
from me Thy holy fear? Is it thus a father punishes? 
I am worse than I was in the world, where I knew Thee 



02f THE ABUSE OF GRACE. 37 

not, and the world and my passions ruled me. Ah ! let 
the arm of Thy justice be shortened ; return to me for the 
sake of so many of Thy faithful servants, with whom I 
have the happiness of living, for the sake of my 
holy founders, who have promised Thee in their Order a 
family of saints. Despise not, O Lord, a contrite and 
humbled heart. Ah ! this sentiment of sorrow that I feel 
can only be the effect of Thy grace ; no less than this re- 
treat, this present moment, when Thou dost speak to me, 
when Thou dost enlighten my understanding, strengthen 
my will and reanimate my hope ; I feel rising in my heart 
a lively fear and confidence. Since Thy voice frightens 
and reanimates me, I know Thou hast not abandoned me. 
Give me time and I will pay Thee all. Thou alone wilt be 
forever the God of my heart. I will give myself up truly 
and forever to Thy guidance. I will no longer oppose Thy 
tender advances to my soul. 

I will abandon myself to the impulse of Thy grace, I 
will be attentive to follow its secret movements, I will be 
docile to its heavenly lights and sensible to its holy ardor. 
Gratitude will support my fidelity. Shall I fear to yield 
too much to the attractions of my God, whilst this God of 
goodness, notwithstanding my abuse of His grace, still pur- 
sues me? What does He ask of me? My heart? 
and in return for so little that He exacts and eagerly re- 
ceives, when it is offered with love, He gives Himself as a 
reward ; can I do too much to repair my losses and secure 
so rich a possession ? 

Oh God, Who dost form in me these desires, support them 
by Thy grace. Enable me to execute with fidelity all that 
Thy goodness inspires. Animate me in the practice of the 
virtues that Thou dost require, and I will embrace them with 
all my strength. I will watch continually over my interior 
to observe the lights, good thoughts, inspirations, and holy 
affections, that Thou wilt deign to communicate tome. I 
will strengthen myself against the weakness of my na- 
ture that abhors what is difficult or opposed to it ; that 
stifles the movements ot Thy grace, fearing to enter too 
deeply into the exercises of piety and mortification. I will 
labor at my perfection, according to the greatness of Thy 
benefits and my obligations. All my life, I will weep 



38 ON RELIGIOUS VIGILANCE. 

over the loss of the time, I have so badly employed. I 
will so use all the moments that remain, that there may 
be no voids in my life, and that I may attain the degree of 
sanctity I am obliged to acquire that I may be saved. 



SECOND DAY. 

CONFERENCE. — ON RELIGIOUS VIGILANCE. 

" What I say to you, I say to all: Watch."— Mark xiii., 37. 

It is not enough to hate sin, we must avoid the occa- 
sions of it. It is not enough not to abuse grace, we must 
profit by it, and it is only by vigilance, the source of every 
merit and the principle of all sanctity, that we can abstain 
from what God forbids, and do what He commands. It is 
only by entering into ourselves, by examining the secret 
dispositions of our souls, by sounding all the folds of our 
hearts, that we can avoid evil, do good, and acquire graces, 
merits, and inspirations from God. 

The certainty of salvation is not the privilege of a soul 
placed by God Himself in religion. She may be lost 
there at any hour, because she is not sheltered from every 
danger. The only means of escape is to be vigilant and 
take proper measures against surprise. 

A continual vigilance is necessary to guard against 
the deceits of her own hearty always leagued with her 
passions to delude her. Without vigilance, she will mistake 
timidity for the true fear of God, a horror of the conse- 
quences of sin for horror of sin itself ; the esteem of virtue 
for a love of virtue ; the sentiment of grace for a consent 
to grace ; vain wishes for a sincere will ; desires of con- 
version for a true conversion. To avoid these disorders a 
scrupulous watchfulness is necessary. In a word, her salva- 
tion and her progress are the result of vigilance. 

" Watch over your heart," says the Holy Scripture, 
because from it life proceeds ; watch over your senses, 
"because through them death enters the 80111/ ' This cir- 
cumspection should be much the greater for a religious, 



OX RELIGIOUS VIGILANCE. 59 

as her heart is a sanctuary in which the Lord wishes to 
dwell, and that closed garden of Scripture, in which He 
wishes to take delight. What a difference between a vigi- 
lant and a dissipated soul in religion ! The latter has 
daily in her hands the most precious treasures, and she 
wastes them ; a number of talents which she might make 
produce a hundred fold, and she buries them. She might 
every moment take a new step toward heaven, and she 
draws back ; she might attach to her crown as many 
precious stones as she has duties to fulfil, and she even 
suffers the crown itself to be taken from her. As nothing 
is more unknown to her than her own heart, she avoids 
considering the source of the faultsshe commits. Nothing is 
more usual than to hear her attribute the cause of them to 
what she thinks she sees defective in the conduct of her 
sisters towards ber. They — if we believe her, — occasion 
all her hastiness, her humor and her wilfulness. Every 
thing must bend to her will. All others experience her im- 
patience. She is always in the right ; to contradict her is 
to touch those mountains that cast up fire and brimstone ; 
she sees no passions in herself, but only in others ; such 
conduct removes her farther and farther from perfection. 
She cannot have the spirit of prayer, for, going to it with 
her imagination full of the pretended faults that have been 
committed against her. she spends her time in judging 
and condemning her neighbor, and in justifying in her own 
eyes all her actions. Such a praj^er drives peace from her 
soul, and she comes from it with bitterness in her heart and 
trouble in her mind. From this fatal and painful situa- 
tion produced by her lack of vigilance, comes that facility 
with which she dispenses herself from a number of 
exercises, and the negligence and tepidity with which 
she acquits herself of others. Prayers without prepara- 
tion, respect or devotion ; spiritual reading without 
attention or fruit; superficial examinations of conscience 
which never lead to change of heart ; confessions without 
contrition or amendment, followed by continuaj relapses, 
so that it seems as if she confesses only to sin, and sins 
only to confess ; communions without faith or love, devo- 
tion or profit ; these make up her life. She daily eats the 
Bread of the strong and remains in her weaknesses ; she 



40 ON RELIGIOUS VIGILANCE. 

unites herself corporally to the Flesh of Jesus Christ, and 
never acquires that union of mind and heart with Him, 
which should be the effect of a good communion. 

Thus, by a deplorable misfortune, the tepid and negli- 
gent religious makes what should be the means of her per- 
fection, obstacles to her salvation ; the graces that God 
gives her, the ordinary matter of her sins ; her very con- 
fessions the source of her reprobation. God, Who never 
entirely withdraws from the sinner, does not abandon her 
but insensibly withdraws His gifts. She is no longer 
touched by what formerly struck her. The sun of 
justice still shines, but no longer in a clear and serene 
noon-day ; she perceives it, but it is only through the 
mists of passion, which thicken more and more. God still 
says to her: " I will," fle commands, but this negligent 
and dissipated soul turns away her attention or answers, 
like the shade of Samuel, " Why do you torment me?" 
In this fatal disposition, she habitually yields to little 
faults, and is but too much disposed to yield to greater. 
She relapses more and more, is disgusted with piety, 
rejects grace ; to-day she quits one practise, to-morrow 
she omits another. She has less and less recollection, 
more repugnance for good, more propensity to evil. The 
burden of religion becomes heavy to her, its yoke oppres- 
sive ; she carries it, or rather drags it, and soon she becomes 
as irregular, as she had formerly been exact and virtuous. 

What is the cause of so frightful an evil? The want of 
vigilance, a voluntary dissipation, a prayer omitted, a 
practise neglected, an exercise abandoned ; behold the 
commencement! Movements ■'of grace despised, remorse 
of conscience stifled, behold the progress ! A more mark- 
ed infidelity, a more grievous fault, continued relapses 
behold the fatal result. Where will it end? 

How ver}' different is the conduct of a religious and 
vigilant soul ! She is always occupied in watching over 
her movements, in combating her passions, in mortifying 
her inclinations, in directing all her steps in the paths of 
justice. We see in all her proceedings the same equality, 
recollection and fervor, the same charity and fidelity to 
her God. We would think that sensible objects produce 
in her no sensation. She watches so carefully over her 



On religious Vigilance. 4i 

heart, that she seems to avert at ease all harmful impres- 
sions. This vigilance renders her attentive to the different 
movements of nature and grace, which so few discern. 
She destroys the former and cultivates the latter. Skil- 
ful in distinguishing the voice of her Spouse, she runs at 
the least sign of His will. Careful to profit by the sacri- 
fices which each day brings her, she amasses a fund of 
treasures. She has duties to fulfil, among which are 
difficult and painful ones ; there are cares to be taken, 
attentions to give, a thousand different occupations, a 
thousand subjections. How many disquietudes and em- 
barrassments does she meet ! But accustomed to break 
her will, to contradict her inclinations, nothing seems to 
incommode, disquiet, vex, or displease her ; she takes 
everything in view of God and according to His spirit. 
The most common actions are performed through a super- 
natural motive. Everything is offered, everything is 
sanctified, everything is meritorious. Do not fear that 
this vigilance will destroy peace and union with her 
sisters. No, on the contrary, it perfects these gifs. A 
soul thus recollected is burdensome to no one, and is uni- 
versally loved. In her are no traits of humor, she exacts 
no attentions, no deferences. She has to treat with differ- 
ent characters, some amiable, others only calculated to 
exercise patience. She complains of no one, overcomes 
herself, represses her resentments, hides what she feels, 
and makes everything contribute to her sanetification. 
But, within herself, how many occasions of sacrifice does 
she not find ! How many weeds spring up in her own 
garden ! She carefully plucks them up as soon as they 
appear. She incessantly arms herself against her own 
heart, her vanity, vivacity, and sensibility ; she is silent 
when she would wish to speak; speaks when she would 
wish to be silent, renounces her tastes, overcomes her 
repugnances, arrests her sallies, governs her humors, 
submits her judgment ; in a word, she restrains and over- 
comes herself without showing it exteriorly. If she is in 
a state of discouragement, dejection, weariness, in which 
without knowing why, she is disquieted, troubled, or agi- 
tated, riis does not by the recital of her pains, fatigue those 
in whom she would find an insensibility that must aggra- 



42 Otf ttEtlGIOUB VIGILANCE. 

vate her wounds, or an interest that would increase them. 
In the secret of her heart, she offers her crosses to God, 
Who alone can give her consolation. She knows that 
suffering is compared to a precious liquor, that loses 
its virtue when exposed to the air. She has recourse 
to God alone. She esteems herself happy to be able 
to give Him every day some pledge of her love, and 
that He deigns to receive such feeble proofs of it. And 
what favors does not this remunerating God lavish upon 
her. Supernatural gifts, a lively faith, tender devotion, 
love of prayer, profound peace, joy of the Holy Spirit, 
power over His own heart, over His love ; prayers in- 
fallibly heard for herself and others ; such is the portion 
of this pure and faithful soul. 

If we were permitted to penetrate into that sanctuary, 
to which God alone is admitted, and watched, what 
wonders would we not discern ! What graces of God 
would we not discover lavished upon this soul, which has 
no movement, no desire, no ardor, but to please Him. 
What facility in conversing with Him ! Prayer is her de- 
light, her element, her life ! In it she banishes from her 
mind everything of earth. What an intimate union with 
the God of her heart, with Jesus Christ ! How many 
precious merits this holy intercourse brings her. 
For her, no actions are indifferent ; the most natural are 
worthy of an infinite reward. By her constant fidelity, 
she acquires at every step a new degree of light to know 
God more clearly, a new degree of love to love Him more 
perfectly. Such is the happiness of a vigilant soul, faith 
ful to the movements of grace. 'Such was in particular St. 
Chantal, that precious model of a religious of the Visita- 
tion. It was by her vigilance, that she attained the high 
degree of sanctity that merited for her the glory she now 
enjoys in heaven, and the veneration decreed her by the 
Church, in placing her upon its altars. Could she have 
known the designs of God over her otherwise than by 
applying herself to the study of them ? Would she have 
had strength to conquer nature and the senses, if she 
had not understood the necessity of it? and could she 
have done this without consulting God, without entering 
into herself continually, without watching over all her 



Otf RELIGIOUS VIGILANCE. 43 

movements? Could she have practised the vow to do 
what was most perfect, — that vow so difficult to fulfil, 
without the greatest circumspection over her heart, her 
actions, discourses and proceedings, her whole conduct? 
What fruit did not her vigilance produce in her soul ! 
How many virtues did it not make her practise and with 
what perfection. In a few words she said much ; often she 
answered by silence, economizing her words and 
moments, so as to give them only through necessity, 
utility and charity. She avoided curiosity, and did 
not gratify that of others. She was serious without 
moroseness, grave without haughtiness ; she had only 
humble sentiments of herself, and always respected and 
esteemed her neighbor. She saw in herself onl} r defects ; 
in others only virtues. In the infirmities of her sisters 
she saw only her own miseries. She reproved them with 
charity, received their advice with great sweetness and 
gratitude ; gave pain to none, and was willing to suffer 
from all. Her discourses were seasoned with that Chris- 
tian meekness which humility produces. She avenged 
injuries only by benefits, regulated her dispositions and 
conduct towards others neither by antipathy nor sym- 
pathy, but by the principles of charity. She exercised this 
virtue more williugly with the persons that pleased her 
least, because she then exercised it in a pure manner ; in 
fine, she saw God alone in her neighbor. It was her 
vigilance over self, that taught her to act no longer accord- 
ing to the sentiments of nature and the senses, but accord- 
ing to faith, neither to seek herself nor others, but God 
alone ; to make the desire of pleasing Him her only virtue, 
the Gospel her principal study, prayer her element, 
patience her exercise, humility her glory, annihilation 
her greatness, mortification ber strength, goodness her 
character, the love of God her treasure, the Rules and 
Constitutions her second Gospel, the Cross her con- 
solation, and a life of sacrifices her eternal crown. 
It was her vigilance that withdrew her senses from 
dissipation, collected her spiritual powers and fixed them 
on God, in Whom she found her repose and felicity. 
Thence, those consoling entertainments with the Supreme 
Being, those continual movements which succeeded each 



44 ON RELIGIOUS VIGILANCE. 

other in her heart by acts of gratitude, adoration, offer- 
ing, humility, compunction and love, of which she formed 
an interior language, which she never suffered to be in- 
terrupted. Thence, that intimate union, that sacred 
intimacy with Jesus Christ, so that she thought only of 
Him and acted only for Him. This divine Saviour lived 
in her, wrought by her, governed her memory, regulated 
her imagination, instructed her understanding, inspired 
her will and inflamed her heart with that heavenly fire, 
which He came to bring on earth. Thus, her vigilance 
filled her whole life, rendered her conduct luminous b} T 
the simplicity of a pure intention, and loaded her with 
merits and glory. Thus, vigilance is indispensable for 
each of her daughters, who should, as she did, aspire to 
the perfection of so hoty a state. 

It is enough, O my God! After the example of my 
holy Mother, I will watch over my mind, examine its 
sentiments and maxims, that I may act always through 
reason, prudence, and discretion ; that I may not see and 
hear things that do not concern me, and take no part in 
amusements that I should avoid. 

I will watch over my heart to examine its dispositions 
and see, O Lord, if it seeks Thee in truth ; if Thou alone 
art its Master ; if Thou alone art its beloved object. 

I will watch over my senses, over my powers, interior 
and exterior, that all may be measured and regulated 
according to Thee, by Thee and for Thee. 

I will watch over the nature and end of my actions, to 
animate them by fervor, and perform them in Thy divine 
presence with a pure intention/ which will have Thee for 
its principle and end. 

] will watch over my defects, especially over those 
habitual ones, which most favor my inclinations, over 
those essential defects, which everybody perceives, and 
which I alone have not seen, because I have not watched 
sufficiently over my conduct, or which if I have known, I 
have excused by a thousand pretexts. 

I will watch over the employment of my time, to let no 
moment escape without fruit, because it is the means by 
which we purchase eternity, because there is not in my 
life a single instant, to which Thy mercy has not attached 



ON DEATH. 45 

some special grace on earth, and destined some special 
glory in heaven. 

I will watch over the occasions of practising virtue to 
let none escape, that I ma} r not lose the infinite treasure of 
graces which they will accumulate for me, if I profit by them. 
I will take advantage of everything to go to Thee ; I will 
make use of the good and bad dispositions of nry body 
and mind, of the few or many talents which Thou hast 
confided to me, of all the events that happen upon earth 
either to me or to others. I will profit by everything to 
approach Thee and to unite myself incessantly to Thee. 

I will watch over temptations, that I may not suffer 
myself to be surprised by the enemy, who incessant^ 
goes about seeking to destroy me, that I may discover 
his pernicious designs and oppose them with invincible 
firmness. . 

I will watch over the use I ought to make of grace, in 
order to correspond with fidelity to its whole extent, because 
according to my holy founder, we reject all if we do not 
receive all. 

In fine I will watch over my whole self without relaxation, 
that I may ever be in readiness to quit this life, and appear 
before Thy tribunal, that I may not be surprised, and may 
always be ready, and in that state in which I would wish 
death to find me. 



THIRD DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. — ON DEATH. 

First Point. 

" In all thy works, remember thy last end, and thou wilt never 
sin. — Eccles, vii., 40. 

We deviate from our end by sin and the abuse of grace ; 
we approach it by the habitual thought of death. 

Death is the passage from this life to another, in which 
the soul is stripped of all that is earthly, and finds God 
alone, Who will be her eternal happiness or unhappiness, 



46 ON DEATH. 

according to the good or bad use she shall have made of 
His law. 

As death is certain, so is the hour uncertain ; and yet, 
we live in a criminal security. By a fatal contradiction 
we comfort ourselves about death, which is surely most 
certain, as if we believed it uncertain ; and in re- 
gard to the time of death, and the state in which it 
will find us, concerning both of which are most ignorant, 
we act as if we were fully informed. The thunderbolt is 
about to strike us, our conscience is sullied with sin, and we 
are tranquil. We would not wish to die in our present state, 
and we do not labor to quit it. We are warned that we 
shall reap only what we have sown, and our works are not 
more worthy of God. Still more, the thought of death, 
so necessary for the regulation of life, is regarded with 
horror ; to give oneself up to it is considered melancholy. 
A true religious deplores this fatal conduct of the 
children of the world. As she aspires only to the pos- 
session of her God, and has more cause to desire than to 
fear the breaking of life's chains, she never forgets the last 
hour which is to fix her eternal fate. All her thoughts 
turn towards this term. She often looks at the dust upon 
which she walks and says to herself, behold what I will 
become. She often interrogates herself upon what might 
disquiet her at that last hour, and sets things in order. She 
retires to rest in the disposition in which she would wish 
to die, and dies daily, that she may have nothing to do at 
the hour of death. After the example of Jesus Christ, 
she does not disquiet herself as to the time, place or 
circumstances of her death. ^The best time is when God 
wills it. Whilst awaiting His will, she performs all her 
actions, as she would wish to perform the last of her life. 
She judges of things as she would at her death ; not 
according to the claims of her senses, but by the light of 
Faith. Thus, securing her salvation by -her works, she 
desires her end rather than fears it ; she looks upon the 
tomb as a crib from which, dying to earth, she will pass 
to heaven. If death, always frightful to human nature, 
excites some alarms in her heart, they are mitigated by 
her ardent desires of being united to God in a blessed 
eternity. She fears the judgments of God, because her 



ON DEATH. 47 

frailties appear to her enormous ; but she earnestly wishes 
to possess Him, to love Him. Humility forms her fears, 
but love inflames and excites her desires, and this love 
triumphs over her alarms. She is continually ready to 
make to God this last sacrifice, which is to crown all the 
others she has made through life with so much generosity. 
If death strikes suddenly, this true religious dies as man 
would have died in the state of innocence ; from life 
she passes to glory. If death comes slowly she profits 
by. time. She learns with pleasure, that she is soon to go 
into the house of the Lord. With what respect, faith 
and confidence, she receives the helps of the Church ! 
Numberless graces fix her immutably in the love of Jesus 
Christ crucified, Whom she has before her eyes. Like Him, 
the remembrance of what she has done to obey and glorify 
God, and the certainty of finding in her Judge a Father 
sustains her. If the judgments of God frighten her, the 
state of her divine Saviour, abandoned on the Cross, 
strengthens her. If the demon makes the last effort to 
drive her to despair, faith, the goodness of God, the 
merits of her Saviour, and her own actions reassure her. 
The past, the present and the future all give her answers 
of life. In the past, she sees, with joy and gratitude, the 
gifts of God, her labors and victories. In the present she 
enjoys the most perfect peace, the fruit of her fidelity to 
all her duties. The future offers her only crowns ; she 
hopes in her God, Whom she has faithfully loved and 
served. She is ready to remit her soul into the bosom of 
her divine Spouse, to be there happily consumed, holily 
purified in the flames of an eternal love. In these senti- 
ments, she receives from Jesus Christ a foretaste of the 
felicity which awaits her ; her faith casts a last lustre 
before it is lost in the light of glory ; her hope becomes 
more lively at the sight of the blessing she is about to 
possess ; and her charity is consummated by being united 
to that of the blessed. What has she to regret? The 
world ? It has been to her a strange land ; she knew it 
only to sacrifice it; she spoke of it only to condemn its 
maxims ; she was seen by it, only through necessity. 
Does she regret her family ? She had separated herself 
from them, saw them only through duty, and spoke of 



48 ON DEATH. 

them only to God. Her friends? She has had true ones 
only in religion, in God and for God. I leave yon, 
she says to them in dying, as Jesus Christ said to His 
Apostles shortly before His death, but it is only for a time, 
we will soon be reunited never to be separated. Does 
she regret her body? She has reduced it to servi- 
tude. Does she regret her life? Jesus Christ alone 
has been her life. What then can death take from her? 
She has broken not only the ties that attached her 
to exterior objects, but also those which might have 
attached her to herself. Death is then a gain for her ; 
far from taking anything from her, it gives her all. It 
delivers her from her fears, removes her from danger, sets 
her at liberty, terminates her sufferings, commences her 
happiness. Who will give me, she exclaims with trans- 
port, who will give me the wings of a dove to fly away 
and rest in the bosom of my God ! Her joy is imprinted 
on her countenance. Her perfect serenity dispels all the 
fear ordinarily inspired by the agonizing. We see there 
the presage of her approaching happiness. She expires 
in the kiss of the Lord ; hers is the death of the just. 

But what a different fate, I will not say for one who 
has constantly dishonored God and her state, and led a 
scandalous life, but for one who has been tepid, negligent, 
and dissipated, whose relaxed life seemed to say to God, 
that His yoke was too hard, and His burden too heavy ; 
who did not remember her last hour ; performed her 
duties only in part ; dragged her cross instead of carrying 
it ; made no efforts to overcome herself in anything ; who, 
in a word, lived in too natural k manner. At this decisive 
moment, the bandage of self-love is torn from her eyes ; 
truths of faith upon which she so carelessly meditated ap- 
pear to her in their full light. She now feels the obligation 
of her vows, her rules and her observances, so much the 
more as she hitherto sought to avoid their severity. She 
sees things in quite a different light. What she regarded 
as scruples, she now looks upon as essential faults. She 
sees crime where she scarcely perceived doubt, and doubt, 
in what she believed a virtue. In a long time spent in re- 
ligion, perhaps she does not find a shadow of solid virtue, 
scarcely faitli and the fear of God. Her confessions do 



ON DEATH. 49 

not comfort her. Her frequent communions frighten her. 
She has lived without reflecting on her errors, and she 
now perceives only a frivolous amusement in her life, 
vain occupations, sins without repentance, loss of time 
without reparation, idleness, indifference, and neglect of 
God. How will she expiate so many faults, so many 
omissions, and, above all, such unpardonable tepidity in the 
service of Jesus Christ. Everything serves to increase 
her pain. A past, lost and irreparable ; a present, too 
short ; a future without end ; what she ought to have done, 
and what she has done ; the debts she has contracted, and 
the Judge before Whom she must appear ; the account 
she has to render, and the sentence she must hear; 
troubled and overwhelmed, her tepidity is still the same ; 
the interests, the glory and the love of God touch her but 
feebly. Her mind and her heart are torn by turns with 
the fear of God, yet without the vivacity of love ; 
by a separation from a small number of friends, as 
tepid and irregular as herself ; by regrets for her family 
from whom she was separated in body, but not in effect ; 
by the dissolution of a hody for which she had pro- 
cured all she could without grievous sin ; and by 
the loss of a life, which she had endeavored to render 
easy and agreeable, although a penitential life in itself. 
Thus the soul of a tepid and relaxed religious falls into 
the hands of an outraged father, a dishonored spouse, an 
implacable judge, an inflexible God. Oh what a death ! 
How dreadful ! 

Second Point. 

Would it be too much, O my God! to put a constraint 
upon myself, all my life, to avoid such a fate as an un- 
happy end, and to purchase the peace of the just at my 
last hour ! I know that I shall die, and that each instant 
of my life may be the last. I know that in dying, I shall 
die to everything, and that everything shall die to me. I 
know that upon the moment of my death depends a whole 
eternity, and that I shall die as I have lived. I know that 
I will be forever, what I will be at the moment of death, 
a friend or an enemy of God. How is it, that the salutary 
thoughts which induced me to embrace the religious state 



50 ON DEATH. 

do not render me more regular, more mortified, more 
humble, more charitable, in a word more religious? Why 
do they not lead me to die in anticipation to all those things 
of which death must necessarily deprive me? To embrace 
without reserve, the virtues which a sudden death will not 
leave me time to practise? To be always in the state, in 
which I should wish to die, aud to secure a holy death by 
a holy life? May Thy grace, O my God, enable me to 
quit the dreadful state of tepidity in which I have so long 
languished, and the danger of which I now see more 
clearly than ever. What a frightful position, for me whom 
Thou has so liberally favored, is that with which Thou 
dost threaten me, to punish m} T ingratitude and the abuse 
I have made of Thy graces ! What more frightful, what 
more terrible than these alarms, these troubles to which 
Thou dost abandon a tepid and relaxed religions ! Alas ! 
have I then left the world, only to be at death as uncer- 
tain of my salvation as I have been all my life? Have I 
voluntarily buried myself in the cloister, as in a 
species of tomb, only to have more horror, more fear of 
that which will one day receive me? Have I em- 
braced a state which is in itself a continual preparation 
for death, only to be less prepared, more surprised at that 
moment? Will I have had so often before my eyes, the 
consoling spectacle of many of my sisters, so fervent in 
those moments which terminated their exile, only to have 
those, who will assist at my death-bed, witnesses of my 
tepidity and scandalous negligence. Let me die the death 
of the just, and let my last end be like theirs. But, in 
vain will I wish to end my life like the saints, if I do 
not think of sanctifying myself as they did. Let me 
live then, O Lord, the life of the just. May I live as 
a penitent that I may die as a saint. Ah ! whatever it 
may cost me, whatever vain pretexts that nature may 
allege, I will no longer live to myself, nor for myself : 
nothing shall turn me aside from Thee. My heart, my 
mind shall all be for Thee, and my soul surrounded by two 
eternities, will no longer hesitate between heaven and hell ; 
it will secure its salvation by good works. I will detach 
myself from all to lix on Thee all my affections, for it is 
into Thy hands I must fall when all others will abandon me. 



ON DEATH. 51 

My whole life shall flow, little by little, drop by drop, so 
to say, into Thy adorable bosom, until it be lost in Thee 
and not in creatures. The quality of victim is insepa- 
rable from the title I bear; I have neglected its duties. 
In the future I will fulfil them more perfectly, and my 
wretched self love, which has almost destroyed the holo- 
caust 1 have offered Thee of my heart, shall henceforth be 
enchained until it receives from Thy hand the stroke of 
death. 

To accomplish these engagements, wjiich I renew to-day 
with Thee, my God, the thoughts of death shall continually 
occupy nry mind ; and that this thought may make more 
impression on me, I will often go, in spirit, to the place 
where I am to repose after death. I will descend, in 
spirit, into the tombs of those who have preceded me, and 
who, sleeping there, teach me to die to all, that I may 
find nothing new in the dark region which awaits me. 
Finally, O my God, I take the resolution to live hence- 
forth, as one who may die at any moment ; to live no 
longer, but as one ready to die, or already dead. 

First. Not to lose the precious remembrance of death, I 
will each hour, say to myself, this moment, wherein so 
many are surprised by death, is perhaps the last for me, 
and on this moment may depend my eternity. 

Second. I will perform each of my actions as if it was 
really to terminate my life ; I will fulfil my duties, as 
though I had immediately to render an account of them. 
I will often recall the example of a holy religious, who, 
constantly faithful to this practice, said: "if I knew I 
should die on leaving this recreation, I would not leave it 
to go elsewhere," or rather, I will imitate the example of 
another saint, who exercised himself unceasingly in dying. 
Every month, or at least once a } T ear, I will take a day to 
accomplish all that I should do at the last moment of my 
life. On that day I will make an exact review of my 
conscience, a fervent communion, with all the acts 
which belong to the reception of holy Viaticum ; I will 
recite the prayers of Extreme Unction, those of the 
agonizing, those which the Church offers for the dead, and 
those which are fitted for the dying. I will go, in spirit, 
before the tribunal of God. I will try to reply to His 



52 ON THE LAST JUDGMENT. 

reproaches, or rather I will hear my terrible sentence, and 
will return to my occupations as one restored, by the 
grace of God, from the gates of hell to do penance. 

Third. I will live as one dead, I will place myself 
in the state of a corpse that is not yet buried, that takes 
no interest in what passes around it, that is insensible to 
all ceremonies, receives honors with indifference and is 
moved by nothing ; that is to say, I will annihilate my 
powers by the most perfect detachment ; I will repulse 
all that can divide my heart and affections ; I will accus- 
tom myself to have only necessary intercourse with 
creatures ; T will despoil myself of all that is not strictly 
necessary. If 1 find it difficult to attain this degree of 
virtue, I will say to myself; " will not the joy of dying 
without pain be sufficient recompense for the pain needed 
to attain it?" I will solicit the grace of my Saviour and 
Model, Who will support my efforts ; I will animate 
myself by the examples, and these words of my holy 
founder: "I desire but few things in this world, and 
these few I desire but little." 



THIRD DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. — ON THE LAST JUDGMENT. 

First Point. 
" Arise ye dead and come to judgment!" 

Happy the religious who animates herself to combat 
and to victory, bj r the remembrance of the angel's 
trumpet, which is to summon all men before the tribunal 
of the sovereign Judge, there to receive the reward of their 
works. More happy she, who, without stopping at the 
terrors of the last judgment, ofteu thinks of the things 
upon which she will be judged ! On that dreadful day, the 
principal matter of the examen will be the graces and 
means of salvation, that have been lavished on her. God 
will demand an account of the precious gift of her voca- 



ON THE LAST JUDGMENT. 53 

tion, of that talent which was confided to her, of the in- 
spirations and lights which she has received, of those 
Rules and Constitutions which should have placed between 
her and sin an infinite distance, and of all those good 
sentiments and movements, which urged her to tend to 
perfection. He will demand an account of His body and 
blood, which so often nourished her ; of her prayers, and 
readings, and especially her vows ; of that secret remorse 
which He, Himself, excited in her heart, to bring her 
back to Him, when she had gone astray. What can a 
soul answer, who has acted according to her caprices, and 
not according to her duties ; who has abused so great a 
predilection ; who has drawn no fruit from an approach to 
the sacraments ; who instead of holy readings has made 
but useless ones ; who has always given favorable inter- 
pretations to the transgression of her vows; who has 
omitted, or done badly, the good she was inspired to do, 
neglected the virtues she should have practiced, wasted 
the graces she should have put to profit, lost the merits 
she should have accumulated ? What shall she think when, 
enlightened by a divine light, she sees so many sins com- 
mitted with deliberation, or through a wilful ignorance ; so 
many faults because of her little vigilance ; her quickness 
in judging, suspecting, speaking ; so many habits contract- 
ed by self-love, humor, curiosity, vanity, delicacy and 
sensibility ; so many evils caused by her example, and her 
discourses ; so many actions performed only through 
policy, fear and human respect. What will she say when 
she sees so much vanity in her words, so much tepidity in 
her prayers, laxity in her duties, eagerness in her zeal, 
natural compassion in her charity, moderation in her tem- 
perament and not in her heart, silence of pure policy in 
her sufferings, of ill humor in her solitude and above all 
so many relapses into faults? The day will come when all 
her illusions will be dissipated, when an exact and enlight- 
ened justice will show her to herself. What will she 
think when all her sins shall appear before her in all their 
enormitv? The eye of her Judge will penetrate to the 
very bottom of her heart, and as St. Paul says, to the 
very marrow of her soul, to lay open by a minute detail, 



54 ON TEE LAST JUDGMENT. 

thought by thought, desire by desire, intention by inten- 
tion, word by word, and day by day, hour by hour, 
iustant by instant. Then each of her actions will be 
presented to her with all their particular circumstances ; 
all will be recalled, without the whole diminishing in any 
manner the real extent of each part. Humiliating reve- 
lation, overwhelming manifestation made by God, that is to 
say a sovereign Avenger, Whom mercy will no longer 
accompany, Whom compassion will no longer touch ; in 
Whom all is infinite, without limit and without measure, 
— anger and wrath as well as goodness and mercy ! 
What will be the terror of this religious soul before 
a God, Who sees blemishes in His angels? Ah! if 
she were then mortal she would wither away with fear. 
No more mercy ; now is the commencement of the im- 
mortal reign of an eternal and rigorous justice. The 
very sight of that infinitely amiable Jesus, Whom she 
would not and can no longer Jove, will be more insup- 
portable than the torments which await her. As long as 
she lived, she could appeal from His justice to His love, 
but now His love yields to justice. From Saviour, 
brother, friend and Spouse, Jesus Christ now becomes 
her acuser, her witness and her judge, God had erected 
in her heart a tribunal composed of reason, to judge an 
interior sentiment to denounce and depose, truth to con- 
vince and pronounce. This tribunal was in her a portion 
of the divine nature and an emanation of eternal justice. 
It will remove the bandage from her eyes, will enlighten 
her on her disorders and will summon her against herself. 
What more deplorable than to^be accused, recognized by 
one's self as guilty and inexcusable before a God 
sovereignly irritated, without defence before an omnipotent 
and avenging God? But what new kind of testimony will 
be that of this religious soul against herself? Unanswer- 
able evidence ! Nothing can elude it, because it will be 
free from all prejudice; it cannot be corrupted by any 
passion. Cruel evidence ! it cannot exculpate her on 
the plea of ignorance ; she could not be ignorant without 
crime, of that which she could not commit or omit 
without crime. Nor can it excuse her on the »plea of 



02? THE LAST JUDGMENT. 5o 

weakness. She would have been able to overcome, had not 
her tepidity prevented her from combating. Nor on the 
plea of assistance ; millions of pagans, an infinity of 
christians have had neither as powerful, nor as frequent 
aid ; nor on the plea of example, custom, or human re- 
spect ; these pretexts, far from excusing her, will render her 
still more guilty. Inexcusable in her own eyes, she will 
turn to God, Who is about to sentence her, to take venge- 
ance in His own hands. This God is to be avenged, 
and avenged as God. He can be so only by a judgment 
formed by her against herself. What greatness in God, 
but what bitterness for this soul ! What greatness in God ; 
He will turn His will, and force Himself to recognize that 
He is no longer free to pardon her, that He can no longer 
show her mercy. What bitterness for this soul ! 
Although the terrible judgment that she feels is suffi- 
ciently justified in itself, she will also be constrained to 
justify it in measure, and at the time that she will endure 
its rigors and feel its blows ; she would oppose the grace 
that God would wish to give her if she could ; she will 
animate His vengeance and execute upon herself His 
sentence of death. This is not all; given up to the 
divine vengeance, she would in vain call for help, every- 
thing would be deaf to her voice ; all is leagued against 
her. The voice of Jesus Christ alone is heard. Ob- 
stinate sinner, will He say to her; I was silent, and 3-011 
were emboldened by my silence ; I waited for you and yon 
despised Me ; behold, the time of my vengeance is come ! 
Acknowledge at last, what has been my patience towards 
you ; you have abused it ; it must judge you to-day and 
avenge Me ! Look at this Cross, still stained with 
M}' blood ! Behold the proof of My love and your 
ingratitude ! Behold the glorious instrument by which 
I wished to save you, and which is about to become 
the judge of your reprobation ! This blood-stained Cross 
opened for you the way to heaven by combats and 
constraints. You had placed yourself under its standard, 
but like a coward, you deserted and preferred hell. I 
had purchased }^ou at the price of My blood. But you 
contemned Me. Put your hands iu these wounds, measure 
their depth, and see what My love- has made Me endure 



56 ON THE LAST JUDOMEWt. 

for you. Your salvation should have flowed from them, 
since it was for you that I suffered them. You refused to 
draw from these sacred sources; now they cry out for 
vengeance against you. To manifest to you the immense 
love of My heart, to conduct you to that fountain of all 
graces, love had opened for you My sacred side ; but in 
spite of all the efforts of My tenderness, in spite of all 
My threats, you did not choose to enter it. Hard and 
unfeeling soul ! This heart shall be closed against you 
forever. You shall pay for My blood, My life, My 
death, M} T body, My soul, My word, My graces and 
My sacraments, which you have abused. You shall pay 
for them by your own death in eternal fire. Immortal 
object of execration to My angels and My saints, for 
the reprobate, and even for the demons themselves, you 
shall be eternally without love for Me ; you are no longer 
mine, and I will no longer be your God. I wished to be 
your felicity, I will be your eternal uuhappiness. You would 
not burn with My love, } r ou shall be devoured by the 
flames of hell. Hell was not prepared for you, but for 
the demons ; you have had the same heart, you shall have 
the same fate. 

/Second Point. 

What a sentence, O my God ! How shall I bear to hear 
it? Yet, if I do not reform, I shall draw it upon myself, 
by the tepid life I am leading, as well as by my resistance 
to grace, and my little advancement in virtue notwith- 
standing Thy inspirations, by the little profit I have drawn 
from the sacraments, by my vanity, dissipation, irregulari- 
ty ; by my many falls and continual relapses. Ah ! Lord, 
enlighten me with that bright light, which will come forth 
from Thy throne on the great day of Thy vengeance, that 
guided by this divine light, I may now purify myself by 
the most sincere penance ; grant that I may avoid the 
inflexible rigor of Thy justice, which condemns without 
appeal, and punishes without delay, by appealing to the 
tenderness of Thy mercy, whilst it is yet open to me. I 
will fear that terrible day, that I may prepare for it, before 
it arrives ; I will prepare for it, that I may not fear it when 
it comes. That I may not then dread Thy presence I will 



ON THE LAST JUDGMENT. 5? 

Seek it now. That I may not fear Thy Cross then, I will 
now carry and love it. To spare myself the confusion of Thy 
judgment, I will enter unceasingly into the secrecy of my 
heart ; I will weigh and regulate ^11 its affections. I will 
condemn and punish myself unsparingly at present, that 
hereafter I may not hear Thy terrible sentence. I will 
familiarize myself with the thought of Thy vengeance, 
and I will use it as a check to avoid sin, and as a 
means to live and breathe only for Thee. Yes, I will live 
continually as if my bodily eyes habitually beheld Thee 
in the terrors of Thy justice. I will retire apart, as did 
Jeremias, to fill my mind with the remembrance of Thy 
vengeance, and to learn to appease Thy wrath by my 
penance. Penetrate my heart with this fear, O my God ! 
may it not be in me the effect of scrupulosity, and conse- 
quently inactive ; may it be filial and active ; practical and 
effective ; fervent and animated by confidence. 

Oh awful moment, which shall decide my eternity ; when 
nothing shall speak in my favor, but my works ; when I 
shall find in my Father and Spouse, only an inflexible 
Judge ; when I shall be enlightened and, as it were, 
invested with Thy light, Lord ! What shall I then answer 
to Thy accusations? Alas! like that man, whom the 
Gospel represents to us at the tribunal of the Great Master, 
who could answer the reproaches made him only by a 
profound silence, I will have nothing to reply, O my God ! 
Or rather, like the wicked servaut, who wishing to answer, 
spoke only for his own condemnation, I will find, even in 
my answers, the matter of most humiliating confusion. In 
this overwhelming state to whom can I have recourse? 
Without advocate, without defence, without protector, m} r 
only resource would be the power of annihilation. But 
Thou, great God, will preserve me to serve as a victim of 
Thy anger. No more temples wherein to pray ; no more 
sacraments to purify, or priests to reconcile me. 1 shall 
find no angel to conduct me, no intercessor to defend me, 
no Mother of mercy to obtain my pardon. All the saints 
will praise Thee for exercising Thj r justice. My holy 
founders will rise up against and reproach me. Many 
seculars will be compared with me, who in the world have 
been more virtuous ; pure souls in the midst of corruption, 



58 02? THE LAST JCDGJfEtf?. 

profoundly recollected amidst embarrassments am] cares ; 
depriving themselves of what was even necessary, to give 
it to the poor ; above all human respect ; resigned in the 
most terrible trials ; regular in their devotions ; detached 
from everything in the midst of riches ; so simple and 
docile without vows ; so penitent without sin ; so many 
christians, in a word, who have been poorer in spirit, more 
chaste, more charitable, more religious than I, will be 
compared with me and rise up in judgment against 
me. I shall be compared with a multitude of saints 
of my own state, and particularly of my own order. 
Their meekness, humility, patience and regularity will 
be shown in contrast with mine. I had the same vows, 
constitutions, rules, trials, helps, exercises of piet} T , 
and the same means of becoming perfect which they had. 
What an overwhelming confusion for me ! O my soul ! 
have 3 t ou ever well understood these truths? Meditate on 
them unceasingly, to prevent a judgment so enlightened, 
so equitable, so dreadful ! 

What Lord ! to approach Thee only to be eternally 
repulsed ! to appear before Thee only to hear the sentence 
of my condemnation ! Ah, Lord ! rather save a soul who 
acknowledges herself guilty; a soul, whom Thou hast 
redeemed with Thy blood, and to whom Thou hast already 
applied its fruits in a very especial manner. Make me 
worth}' to hear these consoling words which Thou wilt 
address to the truly religious souls on the day of judgment : 
" Come ye blessed of Aiy Father, and possess the kingdom 
which I have prepared for you." Ah ! what will be the joy 
of the fervent soul ! What wij/1 be her gratitude ! If she 
could then feel any regret, it would be, not to have conform- 
ed herself still more to her divine Model ; not to have loved 
Thee enough, dear Lord, not to have immolated herself 
more generously. How great art Thou, O Lord, in Thy 
rewards ; how magnificent in Thy saints. What is more 
capable of animating me to the most austere practices of 
religious life than the sight of Thy mercy, so liberal to Thy 
friends. Can I then find any penance too hard, or virtue too 
difficult, to obtain for myself the advantage of having 
Thee for Father during life, for Saviour on the day of Thy 
vengeance, and as eternal Remunerator after that judgment. 



ON HELL. 59 



THIRD DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION. — ON HELL. 

First Point. 

" And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up forever and 
ever; neither have they any rest day or night." — Apoc, xiv. 11. 

Nothing in nature, can give the least idea of the tor- 
ments of hell. It is only through mercy that God afflicts 
the sinner on earth ; in hell, it is justice alone, which exer- 
cises upon him the whole extent of its power. Here, the 
short duration of life gives a hope of the approaching end 
of pain ; there, a never ending eternity fills the unhappy 
victim of the wrath of God with a continually renewed 
despair. O eternity ! who can sound thy abyss ! O 
hell ! who can number thy evils ! A devouring fire, an 
avenging God, a gnawing worm, and this forever ! 

In the deepest part of the earth, it is, as in a vast pool of 
sulphur and bitumen, kindled by the wrath of the 
Almighty ! St. John says, they are buried alive, who die 
id the disgrace of God. In an instant, the fire insinuates 
itself through all their pores, and their bodies are penetra- 
ted with it, as iron in the furnace. It is an immaterial fire, 
more penetrating, because it is the instrument of the anger 
of a God, Who in kindling it, proposed to manifest His 
justice with as much splendor as He manifested His mercy 
in becoming man ; of drawing from crime a vengeance 
proportioned, in some manner, to His greatness ; and of 
repairing the profanation of His blood, which the sinner 
has trodden under foot. It is a fire, which He as God, has 
kindled to punish His enemies in which as is seen the 
finger of His justice, the strength of His hand and the 
omnipotence of His arm. It is a fire, whose supernatural 
activity preserves the body whilst tormenting it ; which 
burns without consuming. For this it is compared in 
the Gospel to salt, because it preserves in place of 
destroying, repairs instead of dissolving, and keeps the vic- 
tim, who is its food, in a constant state of suffering. It is a 



60 ON BELL. 

fire, which will be applied to the body of each reprobate 
with a spirit of discernment proportioned to the nature 
and greatness of his crimes ; which, fed by the hand 
of an irritated God, will always burn without ever 
losing its ardor or its rigor, without ever beiug ex- 
tinguished, without dividing, without giving light, whose 
avenging qualities will not only penetrate the body, but 
will act upon the soul, its powers, and faculties. It will 
penetrate the very substance of body and soul, in a 
region of horror and darkness, where everything will be 
seen that can cause horror to the sight, frightful spectres 
that fill with terror. These victims of divine vengeance 
will suffer all imaginable pain. Every part of their bodies 
will be tormented at the same time. God will add to the 
punishment of fire, that of despair, bowlings, rage, gnash- 
ing of teeth, and each sense will have its particular tor- 
ments. 

If these unhappy victims could love God, hell would be 
less insupportable. But no : hell would become a para- 
dise, if the delights of divine love could be tasted there. 
St. Lawrence appeared insensible in the midst of flames, 
because he loved much. But in the excess of her fright- 
ful pain, the lost soul will turn to God. Instead of 
those sweet words, which He usually answers to the 
afflicted ; " Have patience, I see all, and will reward you," 
she will hear only these : " Why do you call on Me, I am 
not your God. Call me your enemy, for I am, and ever 
will be so." Ah! exclaims St. Augustine, give me a 
heart that has once loved God, it will understand and 
feel what I say, give me Wen a soul possessed by a 
creature and it will comprehend ! God will then make 
Himself be known and felt as He is. The soul will wish 
to love Him, and she cannot ; she will wish to hate Him, 
and her heart will be torn ; in blaspheming Him, she will 
be inconsolable that she cannot love Him. St. Chrysos- 
tom says that this is the peculiar torment of hell ; always 
to wish to love God, and never to love Him ; alwa}'s to 
wish to possess Him, and never to possess Him ; always to 
wish to be delivered from His vengeance, and never to be 
freed ; always to wish that which never will be, and never 
to wish what will be for all eternity. What despair ! To 



ON HELL. 61 

have lost God, to be separated from Him is but little felt 
by the mind weighed down by this mortal body, and by 
the carnal heart attached to the earth. But after death, 
the soul of the reprobate, delivered from her corporal 
prison, will return by a natural and violent inclination, 
towards her principle, her centre, and her end. Her own 
weight will carry her with rapidity towards her Author. 
But stopped by her sins, God will draw her with oue hand, 
to make her suffer more cruelly, and with the other, will 
repulse her with indignation. On one side, this soul will 
rush foward towards God, and exclaim in her transports ; 
"Where is my God? What has become of my God?" 
On the other hand, God will reply " there is no God for 
you ; the God of the universe is no longer your God." 
Then turning all her rage against herself, she will again 
exclaim : " but if there is no God for me, why these tran- 
sports for Him, which rend me? Why do I not return to 
my first nothingness?" In vain will she seek to break 
the bonds which keep her in the flames, to seek either her 
God or death. She cannot escape from that abode of 
tears, where she will find only her avenger, and continually 
new torments. From this will arise execrations and fury 
against a God, Whom she will detest as her enemy. Eter- 
nally she will curse Him, Whom she can neither destroy 
nor love. The more she will feel herself drawn by the 
charms of that divine Beauty, the more she will multiply 
her maledictions ; not being able to content her love, she 
will endeavor to satisfy her hatred. What greater horror 
than hell for a soul that had once belonged to God. 

If at least she could forget. But no : on the contrary, 
it is by this bitter remembrance of her dignity, that the 
hatred of the reprobate soul is augmented, because the 
image of God, ineffaceably engraven in her will, recall at 
every moment the merit and greatness of the object she 
has lost. She cannot forget during the course of ages, 
that the object of her hate ought naturally to be the 
object of her love. She will reproach herself eternally for 
having lost her God by her own fault, notwithstanding 
His graces, His patience, His mercy, and His blood shed 
for her ; this is properly the punishment of the religious soul 



62 ON HELL. 

in hell. The hell of hells for her, is the thought, that she 
could have avoided hell and did not do so. The peculiar 
torment of a religious in hell will be the remembrance of 
the merit and grandeur of the object which she has lost. 
The idea of what her Saviour has done for her salvation 
will represent to her a rain of blood, that blood of Jesus 
Christ which flowed for her to the last drop transformed 
into a torrent of flames and wrath. I could have refrained 
from sin, and I did not, will she say. But having 
sinned, there was still a resource for me ; grace was 
offered me : everything concurred to my salvation. What 
abundant helps ! I was incessantly urged. Gcd Himself, 
my conscience, my superiors, my state, everything 
invited me ; so many others profited by the same means. 
Chosen souls of my God, you have been what I was ; 
religious as I was, why am I not what you are ? I could have 
been but am not, will never be, because I have not willed 
it. Ah ! Ye glorious predestined ! From the bottom of 
this gulf of fire, I see you seated upon thrones of glory. 
I even see amongst you the place and the crown that 
were prepared for me. I see you in the centre of happiness 
and I shall never have any other portion than hell and 
despair ! I have lost heaven ! I am in hell ! It is my 
own fault. But what completes my misery is, that it 
shall be eternal ! Sin has left so deep a stain upon my 
soul, that it cannot be effaced by the pains of eternity. 
Oh eternity ! whose moments will be ages, and whose 
ages will never finish ! Eternal Beauty ! never more shall 
I behold you ! Divine Lighty you have disappeared from 
me forever ! You leave me buried in the shades of 
eternal night. O God ! I am forever to be the object of 
Thy hatred ! To bear eternally the weight of Thy wrath ! 
After having been destined to possess Thee eternally, I 
am to be forever banished from Thy presence, and con- 
demned never to love Thee. Never to love Thee, O 
tender father, O liberal spouse, never to love Thee, and 
never, never to be loved by Thee ! 

Then, turning her rage against herself, because she 
knows that she is the authoress of her own misfortunes, 
she will seek anew to destroy herself ; she will endeavor 
to get out of the fire that surrounds her, but in vain. 



ON HELL. 63 

Insurmountable obstacles stop her ; she will feel an in- 
visible but omnipotent hand that plunges her again and 
again in those devouring flames, and gives a new weight 
to the chains which hold her captive. At length, finding 
no resource but in her despair, she joins in the roarings 
and imprecations of the demons, her associates, and ail 
together, animated with hatred against God, turn upon 
each other, upon themselves, and in the bowlings of despair, 
curse God, curse themselves, and curse one another. 

Second Point. 

Here, O my God ! my mind wanders, my thoughts are 
confounded ; like David I am so troubled that I can no 
longer speak. How is it that these terrible truths have 
hitherto made so little impression on me. Oh avenging 
and eternal fires ! Hell ! Behold where I would already 
be, hadst Thou rendered me exact justice ; if Thou hadst 
not treated me according to Thy great mercy. Behold, 
where, perhaps, I will fall at this moment should I die 
suddenly, where I will one day be cast if I persevere in 
my faults ; for what will cause me to be buried, with so 
many others in the abyss ? — one mortal sin, and death in sin. 
Is mortal sin so difficult to commit, and are the surprises 
of death so extraordinary? What! my eternity depends 
on a moment, on a great number of little things, on a 
little more or a little less of time, a little more or less of 
delay, a little more or less of matter, or of consent to sin ; 
on a little more or less of sorrow, of contrition, of 
liberty, of reason, and I have thought so little of it ! I 
have occupied myself so seldom with it ; I have marked 
all my steps by great faults. A thousand and a thousand 
times have I deserved hell. O my God, Thou couldst, 
and Thou shouldst have cast me into the abyss, and 
Thou didst not. 

Thy goodness, O my God, has watched over me ; Thy 
arm has restrained me on the borders of the precipice. 
Thy justice demanded vengeance ; Thy mercy would not 
consent to it. This is not all. Not only wouldst Thou 
not destroy me, but notwithstanding my ingratitude, what 
hast Thou not done to save me? Thy patience still waits 



64 OK HELL. 

for me ; Thy goodness seeks and watches over me ; Thy 
blood offers me the pardon of my sins ; Thy liberality dif- 
fuses upon me its lights. Even in this retreat, Thou mak- 
est known to me iu a more particular manner the eternal 
torments by which Thou wouldst punish the ungrateful. 
Thy wounded love would avenge itself, only to teach me to 
avoid sin, and to force me to love Thee by the fear of 
Thy justice. Who art Thou, O my God ! and who am I? 
What is my heart, that Thou shouldst so ardently desire 
to possess it? Is it then possible, that this heart, which 
has received from Thee life and an infinity of blessings ; 
that this heart, taught by its own experience and by Thy 
special grace, can find true happiness except in Thee alone ; 
that this heart, which Thou hast purchased by so many 
opprobriums, so man}' sufferings, which Thou hast made 
in so special a manner a partaker of the fruits of 
Thy death, which Thou hast led, as it were, by the 
hand into the sanctuary ; that this heart should not love 
Thee? Was it necessary, that so many motives for 
loving Thee should be given? Was it necessary, that to 
these motives, the fear of hell should be added? At the 
sight of these threats what am I to think of the desire 
Thou hast for me to love Thee ? By the immensity, the 
eternity of the punishments, which Thou preparest for my 
ingratitude, I conceive the immensity, the infinity of Thy 
desire, of Thy will for my salvation. Have I a heart if it 
is not moved by these reasons ? Oh how well calculated are 
the flames of hell, attentively meditated, to excite in a soul, 
the flames of divine love ! Afh Lord ! since, by an admir- 
able effect of Thy goodness, I am not now burning in the 
flames of hell, let me burn, let me be consumed by the fire 
of Thy love. Let my gratitude be eternal at the sight of 
Thy mercy, which has hitherto preserved me from an un- 
happy eternity. Like the youths, who were thrown into 
the furnace, and preserved from a temporal fire, I will 
invite all creatures to bless Thee for having spared me 
eternal punishments. I will praise Thee like David, for 
having drawn me from hell, and from the lowest depths 
of hell through an excess of Thy goodness. I should 
have been sacrificed to Thy anger, I will sacrifice myself 
now to Thy love. My tongue would have cursed Thee, it 



ON HELL. 65 

shall bless Thee eternally. My body would have burned, 
without ever being consumed ; it shall be slowly consumed 
in Thy service. All creatures would have contributed to 
my punishment ; I will immolate them to Thy greatness. 
I will forget them, sacrifice them, and they shall aid me to 
go to Thee. I would have blasphemed Thee with the 
companions of my misfortune ; I will sing Thy praises, 
bless Thy holy name, and publish Tlry mercies with 
my sisters, and with all the souls devoted to Thy service. 
I will continually recall Who Thou art, what Thou dost 
merit, what Thou hast done for the most unworthy of 
Thy creatures. My punishment would have been eternal, 
my gratitude and love shall endure forever. 

I will be all Thine, all Thine through gratitude and fidel- 
ity. To strengthen myself in this resolution, I will, like 
St. Teresa and my holy founder, who made it a practice, 
often transport myself in spirit to the abj'ss, there to seek 
my place. Following the counsel of St. Bernard I will 
often descend into hell during life, that I may not go there 
after death. I will often think of the eternal privation of 
Thy presence which is, without doubt, the most cruel of 
all the torments a soul can endure, who is specially called 
to the happiness of possessing Thee eternally. I will 
recall without ceasing, that if among men the same pun- 
ishment is often the chastisement of one more or less 
criminal, it is not so before Thee. The pains of the repro- 
bate, although eternal in duration, will have limits more or 
less exteuded, accordiug as the sins will have been more or 
less numerous, the state more or less holy, the means of 
salvation and perfection more or less abundant. Conse- 
quently, the hell of the religious soul will not be that of 
the infidel, nor even of those of the world ; but a hell a 
thousaud times more cruel, where not only the ardor of 
the fire, the persecution of all creatures, the punishments 
of body and mind, the eternity of pains, and the pains of 
eternity, the privation of all good, the weight of all evil 
will be common to her with the demous, her associates ; 
but, still more than they, will she be tortured with the 
bitter regret of having lost Thee, Who wert more particular- 
ly her God. More enlightened than they on the greatness of 
her loss ; more consumed with desires for beatitude, and 



66 (W THE VOW ^F CHASTITY. 

more furious against Thy avenging hand which has ban- 
ished her ; more divided than they between a natural and 
necessary love for Thee, and a free, voluntary hatred, she 
will be more acutely tormented in all the powers of her 
bod3*, soul and substance. These traits of Thy justice, 
Lord, will increase m}' fear and my vigilance. Henceforth 
there will be no attachment, no pleasure, no satisfaction 
that I will not sacrifice to Thy grace, Thy law and my 
vows. Weariness, disgust, dryness, infirmities, persecu- 
tions, dependence, regularity, labors, penance, mortifica- 
tion, fears real or imaginary, trials in the constant prac- 
tice of good, nothing will cost me. I will say to myself, 
what is this compared to hell where I should burn forever. 
Thus will I animate myself in the way of that perfection 
to which Thou hast called me, by the grace of predilection. 
Support my weakness, O divine Spouse ; purify me in 
Thy mercy, that I may avoid the wrath of Thy justice, 
which punishes without limits, and be not oppressed 
by the weight of Thy sanctity ! 



THIRD DAY. 

CONFERENCE. — ON THE VOW OF CHASTITY. 

" The unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of 
the Lord that she may be holy both in body and in spirit." — I 
Cor.vii.,34. 

/ 
There is no vice that causes so many souls to fall into 
hell as impurity. This crime has so great, so singular an 
incompatibility with God, Who is purity by essence, that 
He has always punished it by the most signal vengeance 
In the early ages of the world, this thrice holy God, after 
having sworn that His spirit should no longer dwell with 
men given up to impure passions, accomplished His word 
by drowning the universe under the waters of the deluge, 
by purifying even the earth itself from the stains it had 
contracted. This is but a feeble image of the wrath which 
will animate Him during all ages, against this monster, 



ON THE VOW OF CHASTITY. 67 

which He detests. Nothing sullied can enter the kingdom 
of heaven. Hell will be the portion of those who render 
themselves like the devils, whom the Scripture calls un- 
clean spirits ; of those, who, although they do not fall into 
the grossest disorders, render themselves guilty of impure 
and voluntary thoughts, desires or emotions. There is no 
virtue, therefore, more essential, and which is more danger- 
ously and easily wounded, than chastity. The least 
faults committed in this matter, when they are fully 
consented to, and when they are committed through a 
spirit of impurit} 7 , are mortal. But, if every voluntary 
sin against chastity is a mortal sin in all sorts of persons, 
in a religious soul it is not only a crime, but an adultery, 
because she has a Spouse, and this Spouse is a God, and 
a jealous God, and there exists between this God and the 
religious, an alliance sealed with a mutual promise, 
which is to last for all eternity. The faults which attack 
the purity of a religious, render her guilty of a mortal sin 
containing a double malice, which, on account of her vow, 
becomes a sacrilege. There are some cases in which a 
secular would commit only a venial sin as, for example 
yielding to certain levities, which are frequently committed 
in the world, even in presence of other persons. But in 
these a religious would sin mortally, on account of the scan- 
dal she would give, the wrong she would do both to religion 
and the sacred engagements she has contracted. How great, 
then, should be her care not to alter in anything her vow of 
chastity ! What exactitude in practising a virtue which re- 
quires so much ! A virtue which St. Francis of Sales says 
is fundamental in his order ! " It is not necessary," said he, 
" to declare to you how much you are obliged to practice it. 
for, in a word, you should live, breathe, and aspire only to 
and for your heavenly Spouse, in all sanctity and purity 
of mind, words, demeanor, actions, and by an angelic and 
immaculate conversation. What a happiness for you to 
observe voluntarily, even in this life, this pure chastity 
which the angels and saints necessarily observe in 
heaven." He desired that in quality of spouses of Christ 
and dwellers on Calvary, the sisters should be divested 
of all human desires and affections, as their divine Spouse 
was of the robe He wore when He arrived there ; that 



68 ON THE VOW OF CHASTITY. 

being clothed one day in the white robe, they may "follow 
the lamb whithersoever He goeth." This desire of St. 
Francis of Sales is the will of Jesus Christ. The greatest 
privilege for those, to whom He has shown the mercy of 
separating them from the engagements of the world, is to 
have taken them, says St. Paul, from all that divides the 
heart, and to have left them no other care upon earth, but 
that of thinking of God, and of being employed in the 
things of God, to find iu this kind of life true sanctity. 
Their happiness and glory is not only to belong to Him 
by purity, but also to be His alone by the integrity of 
their heart. It is, in effect, to live in the flesh, whilst 
refusing everything to the flesh. It is to change, as it 
were, their own natures, by leading angelic lives. It is 
to cherish their state, full of spiritual sweetness and chaste 
pleasures, worth infinitely more than those they have 
sacrificed. What a consolation for a religious, and what 
thanks should she not render to her God, for having 
chosen her from all eteruity, to honor her with the glorious 
quality of His spouse ; for having united her to Himself, 
by bonds equally honorable and indissoluble, and for 
having drawn her from the corruption of the world, to 
give her a safe asylum, a sanctuary, where He has placed 
His throne, where He resides, and where He takes His 
delight in the purity which is so faithfully observed by 
her. There, beloved by her spouse, Who feeds among the 
lilies, she should endeavor to correspond to the honor 
which He does her, by applying herself to tighten the 
sacred bonds which attach her to Him ; to purify her 
heart more and more, in order to render it more capable 
of loving Him. Truly chaste, she should exchange love 
for love, extinguish a profane by a sacred fire. To love, 
she should unite fear, because chastity, that pure and 
precious virtue, is blighted by a single voluntary thought ; 
because she carries this treasure in a fragile vessel, and if 
it is in more safety in religion than in the world, it is not, 
however, without danger. In separating from the world 
she did not separate from herself ; and in herself she 
carries a domestic enemy, so much the more to be feared, 
as it is usually loved, nourished, and flattered. She should 
carefully avoid the snares laid for her and take all tho 



ON THE VOW OF CHASTITY. 69 

more precautions, as no fault is light, when there is 
question of impurity ; lightness being but little excuse in 
this matter. 

But little generosity was necessary for her to pro- 
nounce the vow of chastity, but what vigilance fidelity 
to this engagement requires ! The tempter fails not to 
profit by the least access that is given to him. He seduces 
the heart when he is listened to, and what progress does he 
not effect in a short time, in the way of perdition. A com- 
placency, a thought, a desire, a look, an effusion of the 
heart, a curiosity, — what terrible conflagrations have been 
caused by these sparks ! A passion that is not entirely 
suppressed cannot suffer limits which it alwa3 T s finds too 
narrow ; it soon bursts the feeble bonds which restrain it. 
What cannot a rising inclination do in a weak and negli- 
gent heart? What bad fruits will not this root produce, 
if not promptly eradicated ! If this poison is preserved 
what infection will it not cause ? When this bad leaven 
enters the mass, it soon corrupts it. At first, this passion 
produces an infinity of reflections ; sometimes bitter, 
sometimes agreeable, and how often does it not bring sighs 
after a free state ? If these thoughts be listened to, there 
follows a certain weariness in the practice of piety ; a 
disgust for obedience ; relaxation in the things of God ; 
and in preparation for the divine mysteries ; in the f requen- 
tation of the Sacraments, and in reading holy books. 
Prayer, that heavenly manna, becomes insipid to her. 
The presence of the more exemplary is feared, their 
conversation wearies. There is not yet an open revolt 
against God ; this artful passion, not to appear such as it is 
in reality, covers itself with a borrowed veil. How much to 
be feared are the hidden sparks of this fire ! God Who has 
not yet abandoned this soul, seeks to withdraw her from 
her error, and gives her remorses of conscience and re- 
proaches of grace. More sensible to her loss than she is 
herself. He consents to it with pain, but will not force her 
heart. He desires she should love Him freely, therefore it is 
necessary that she should offer a kind of violence to His 
Heart, to oblige Him, as it were, in spite of Himself, to 
abandon her to her evil passions. But. once separated 
from God, into what an abyss does she not plunge ! 



70 ON THE VOW OF CHASTlT?. 

What are not the fatal consequences of this passion 
which was almost imperceptible in its commencement, 
but so rapid in its progress? No more principles of 
virtue, no more sentiments of piety, no more remorse of 
conscience, no more heavenly lights, but blindness of mind, 
and hardness of heart ! If this impure soul does not lose 
faith, she has only a dead faith. Such is generally the 
frightful lot of a religious, who having been raised to the 
glorious quality of spouse of God, though unworthy 
of it, and having been, at the same time, ornamented with 
grace and with all the advantages that could elevate her 
baseness, and supply her deficiency, instead of being 
grateful to her divine Spouse, neglects her duties, and 
the obligations she is under to Him, dishonors Him and 
herself. Ah ! how many, according to the language of the 
Apostle, have commenced by the spirit and ended by the 
flesh! "An Angel transformed into a demon," says St. 
John Climacus, " is not more horrible than the soul of such 
a religious." 

To avoid so dreadful a misfortune, and to preserve 
purity in all its lustre, what should not a spouse of Christ 
do, who has acquired this august honor at the price of 
the blood of this man-God? Behold the advice which her 
holy foundress gives her; she should, in the first place, 
love chastity with her whole heart, as an infinitely amiable 
virtue, which by a solemn vow she has promised God to 
keep all her life, and she should abhor the opposite vice 
above everything that is most horrible ?n the world. She 
should be sincerely prepared in heart, to enter rather 
into a burning furnace, and suffer the most atrocious 
torments, than to permit the least blemish in that 
purity which is the ornament, the beauty, and the delight 
of chaste souls. Heaven is not farther from earth than 
should be all that can, ever so little, tarnish this virtue in 
her. She should be deeply penetrated with the sanctity 
of her state, and literally fulfil the obligations which it 
imposes on her of leading an angelic life. She should 
keep the powers of her soul in tranquillity and modesty, 
avoiding curiosity, and retrenching from the will a multi- 
plicity of desires, thus keeping it always in simplicity. 
She should compose the motions, gestures, and deport- 



Ok THE VOW OP CHASTITY. 71 

ment of her body, says St. Chantal, avoiding two 
extremes which are levity, and a too affected manner. 
She should not allow herself any free or curious looks 
upon persons of the other sex. Her veil is her buckler; 
to raise it is to disarm herself, and to expose herself to 
her enemies without defence. She should watch over her 
imagination, her mind and her heart, not to suffer any 
impure thoughts or affections to enter. She should not 
allow in herself anything that does not breathe the odor 
of the greatest purity before men and angels. Above 
all, she should avoid those secular conversations, in which 
the world is spoken of, in which free or useless words 
are spoken, where gravity and propriety are often 
lost. In a word, she should be chaste in everything, 
chaste in her eyes by the modesty of her looks ; in 
her ears, by her fidelity in turning them away from 
all improper discourses ; in her lips, by her reserve 
in speaking ; in her hands, by her purity of action ; 
in her feet, by the modesty of her walk ; in her deport- 
ment, by the composure of all her members, in which 
nothing should appear, free or unbecoming ; in her mind, 
by the purity of her thoughts ; in her heart, by the sanctity 
of her desires ; finally, she should be chaste by pure and 
spotless manners. Chastity should not be in her a con- 
stitutional or philosophical virtue, which consists in 
abstaining from the vices opposed to this virtue, be- 
cause one has no inclination to them, or because they 
are contrary to reason. A religious should practise 
purity from higher motives ; to make to God a sacrifice 
of her flesh, as well as of her mind ; to glorify Him 
in her body as well as in her soul ; to prepare for 
Jesus Christ, an agreeable abode; in a word, to unite 
herself more intimately to God and to imitate Him more 
closely. 

In order to practise this virtue of chastity with perfec- 
tion, a religious must not only abstain from the pleas- 
ures directly opposed to this virtue, but also from those 
of all the other senses. Purity must elevate her above all 
sensible pleasures, above all affections. It must make 
her enter, as much as possible, the state in which the 
flesh of Jesus Christ was, after His resurrection, insen- 



72 on the vow Of ciiASTifV. 

sible to all the pleasures that are derived from objects 
here below, the state in which the bodies of the saints 
will be, when elevated in glory ; a state resembling that 
of the angels, those substances separated from matter, 
and incorruptible ; finally, the state of purity and im- 
mortality, with which she herself will be clothed, after 
the end of ages. 

To attain to this what means should she employ? 
Mortification, humility, prayer, obedience and flight from 
occasions. In vain will she hope to be chaste, if she 
does not reduce to servitude, by abstinence, fastings, 
watchings, labor, and all the austerities prescribed by the 
rule, a flesh always rebellious to the spirit. A hard, pain- 
ful, and laborious life is the support of chastity ; an easy, 
sensual, and idle life is its destruction. St. Francis of 
Sales says, that only the salt and myrrh of mortification 
can prevent this sinful flesh from corrupting. To morti- 
fication, humility must be joined. She must continually 
acknowledge, at the feet of her God, that this virtue is 
above her strength, and that He alone can give it to her. 
Consequently, she should incessantly ask it of Him, and 
subject her spirit to her superiors, to render herself 
worthy, that Jesus Christ Himself may subject her flesh 
to His spirit. Above all, she should avoid occasions, 
because it is only by flight that she can gain the victory. 
She should avoid all frequent visits, all marks of par- 
ticular friendship, for it is impossible for them not to 
cool, if they do not divide her heart ; nothing cools divine 
love so soon as particular friendships, and nothing is 
more dangerous in its consequences. She should distrust 
her own heart, lest it betray her ; banish from it all sen- 
sible attachments, and never suffer it to contract a parti- 
cular friendship, under any pretext whatever, even the 
most specious, as are the direction and the desire of 
aiding souls to advance in perfection ; how easy it is to 
pass from a spiritual to a natural affection. From the 
same principle, she cannot fear too much that too human 
attachment, which, under pretext of piety and spiritual 
need, is so easily conceived and nourished for a confessor. 
She should avoid having with him those long and frequent 
conferences, in which, at least much time is lost and 



ON THE VOW OF CHASTITY. 73 

occasion given to our neighbor for murmuring and disedi- 
fication. To strengthen herself on this point, she should 
always remember what St. Teresa relates of herself. God 
made known to her, that an attachment to her director, 
which she thought was innocent, would have been an ob- 
stacle not only to her perfection, but also to her salvation, 
and He even showed her the place in hell, which she would 
have had on account of it, had it not been broken. 

Notwithstanding all these precautions, which St. 
Francis of Sales and St. de Chantal require, God sometimes 
permits the religious soul to suffer the most grievous and 
humiliating temptations, either to exercise her virtue, to 
increase her merit, to excite her vigilance, or to remedy a 
secret pride in the recesses of her heart. This soul 
should then humble herself without being troubled or dis- 
quieted. She should be persuaded that our Lord will 
not permit her to be tempted above her strength, but that 
He will draw His own glory and her advantage from her 
temptations, purify her even from her involuntary impuri- 
ties, fortify her in her weakness and the revolts she 
experiences in spite of herself, and which she vigorously 
combats. What is in the mind, the imagination, and the 
senses, how impure soever it may appear, does not sully 
the heart, as long as it displeases it ; only the will can 
render the soul guilty. A propensity to evil, is not a sin ; 
it may become an exercise of virtue, especially if the soul 
apply herself, to practice abandonment, fidelity, and con- 
stancy ; abandonment to surfer ; fidelity to support her 
state ; constancy to persevere in her duty. The safest way 
of resisting in these circumstances is not to enter, through 
a spirit of scrupulosit}^, into a minute examination, which 
would increase the danger, and impress, in a more lively 
manner, the evil objects on the imagination. The shortest 
way to withdraw from the temptation is to disengage 
oneself promptly from the representations and sentiments, 
by suffering them to pass, as if we did not perceive them, 
and not to examine or repulse them positively, lest we 
give them more strength to tempt violently. The con- 
tempt we have for them diminishes by degrees their 
images and remembrance ; the will, which has not con- 
sented, is strengthened in the inviolable resolution of 



74 02t TEE EAPPIXESS OF HE A VEtf. 

taking no pleasure in them, and in her horror of them ; 
the soul is afterwards fortified by prayer, the mind by 
good thoughts, the heart by holy affections and the love 
of God ; thus temptations are gradually weakened by the 
mercy of God, and calm succeeds the storm. 



FOURTH DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. ON THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

First Point. 

" Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into 
the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that 
love Him." — 1 Cor. ii., 9. 

A powerful means for a religious, who wishes to break 
every tie that attaches her to sin, to the world and to 
herself, is to consider for what she is destined after this 
life, and how contemptible are the objects of her attach- 
ment, when compared with what she hopes for in the 
future. God, Who drew her soul from nothingness, could, 
without doubt, annihilate her, for it does not require more 
power to make nothing out of something, than to make 
something out of nothing. But God has revealed to her 
the immortality of her soul ; He has assured her that, 
after a deep sleep, her ashes shall be awakened and the 
same body, which now serves as a dwelling for her soul, 
shall be restored to her, to be/eternally associated in her 
fate. 

She had a beginning, but she shall never have an end. 
All that strikes her senses, all that surrounds it, the world 
and what composes it shall be no more, or, at least, it 
will so change its form and figure as to be no longer 
recognized. It will fall again into its ancient chaos ; but 
God and her soul shall remain the same forever ; their 
years shall never fail. She should, therefore, look upon 
herself as a stranger in this world. There is for her no 
fixed and permanent abode upon earth, her home is in the 
bosom of God, and shall last eternally. To remember 



ON THE HAPPINESS OF HEA YEN. 75 

this truth incessantly, the ancient patriarchs did not build 
houses. They lived in camps all their lives, and, says the 
Apostle, wandered from one province to another, that 
they might remember that this was not their home. They 
expected a permanent city, of which God Himself was to 
be the foundation. They desired it constantly and 
sighed for it from afar. Their language corresponded to 
their sentiments and actions. " Thus," said St. Peter to 
the primitive Christians, " should you think, live, and 
act." Do not, therefore, allow your heart to form any 
desire as regards time. It was with a view to imitate 
these patriarchs and first Christians, that the holy found- 
ers of our Order established the annual changes of cells, 
furniture, etc., that obedience ordains, so that, thinking 
of heaven, a religious should consider herself as an exile 
upon earth, and become insensible to terrestrial things. 
Does this contempt of all that passes away require her 
not to apply herself to anything else? No, even the 
spirit of her Institute is opposed to this ; but, it is to teach 
her to use the things of earth as if she used them not, 
without eagerness or attachment. The thought of heaven 
does not prevent the necessary application which even 
her Rule prescribes, but it moderates that great activity, 
that intoxication of action, so to say, which would divert 
her attention from God and solid things. It reminds her 
that she must do everything through duty, and her duty 
only, because it is the Will of God. It animates her as 
much as passion would, but with a purer and more lasting 
flame. What, in fact, is more capable of animating her 
in labors and regulating her actions, than the sight of the 
reward. Ah ! what a reward ! Heaven ! that is a king- 
dom which surpasses in beauty, riches and delights, all 
that the eye has seen, the ear heard, or the human heart can 
conceive or desire. Heaven ! That is the masterpiece of 
the magnificence and omnipotence of her God, where she 
will see Him in His beauty and grandeur, where she will 
love Him without division or interruption, where she will 
be happy with His happiness, and clothed with his glory, 
where the divine attributes will be manifested to her in all 
their perfection. God Himself will fill her with delights. 
Who can express with what plenitude He will fill all her 



76 ON THE HAPPINESS OF HE AY EN. 

faculties, communicate to her mind all the knowledge, and 
to her heart all the love of which they are capable. She 
will know that her happiness is eternal and, therefore, 
nothing will be wanting to the perfection of her joy. She 
will sing forever the mercies of the Lord, she will inces- 
santly exclaim that His goodness is far above the heaven 
in which He has placed her. 

Should not such a happiness inflame the heart of a 
true religious, even here, not with a mercenary love, 
excited b} T the view of her own interests, but with 
a truly filial love, which will make her sigh for heaven, 
for the love of God Himself ? In the multitude of blessings 
which heaven promises her, she should cherish and desire 
no other delight than that of loving eternally her God, 
her Creator, her Saviour, her Redeemer, her Benefactor, 
the essential and only centre of her soul and her whole 
being. Should not the thought of this eternal union with 
her God render life a burden to her, and make her wish 
for death? Can a long life be desired by a true religious, 
to whom Jesus Christ has made a special promise to expand, 
in heaven the narrow limits of her heart and to inflame 
it with a more abundant love? 

Our Lord has established in His house many mansions, 
but nearest to His sanctuary, shall be those souls, 
who have most closely followed Him on earth. Their 
kingdom is not of this world, their crown shall be more 
brilliant. Their bodies, says the Gospel, shall beam with 
a brighter light, a brighter glory ; they shall be placed 
upon more luminous thrones and shall drink long draughts 
from that ocean of delights that shall water the city of 
God. Is there any virtue that does not become easy, 
are there any labors or penances that a religious cannot 
support at the sight of a remunerating God, Who promises 
her a happiness so immense in its greatness, so infinite in 
its extent, a happiness which He purchased for her at the 
price of His blood, and the acquisition of which He render- 
ed eas}' by His grace, after having traced out the way by 
His words and example ? What a lively ardor should she not 
feel in her soul, when told that this divine Heart will then 
draw her by charms so powerful, that it will be impossible 
for her to love any other ; that her love for Him will be 



ON THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 77 

pure and without any mixture of self-love, because it will 
be proportioned to her knowledge of God, which will be 
more perfect ; whereas, here below, this knowledge being 
very limited, her love is very imperfect. It will be 
equable and immutable, because He who excites it 
will never hide Himself from her eyes, whereas, here 
her love is incessantly weakened, because her God 
incessantly escapes from her. It will subsist in all its 
strength, because God will furnish her without interrup- 
tion new motives, which will excite in her heart new 
ardors, new transports, whereas, here her love is 
often extinguished, because this diviue fire is enkindled 
iu her soul only by the help of certain momentary and 
unconnected means. In fine, her love in heaven will be 
delicious, because the measure of her desire will be filled 
and flowing over ; because the Holy Spirit, by His divine 
operation, will diffuse over all her affections the plenitude 
and sweetness of His unction, whereas, here the 
exercise of even her love becomes her torment and, per- 
haps, causes her such pain that, if God did not sustain 
her, she could not bear it without a miracle. What joy 
should not a truly religious heart feel, when she is told 
that these communications, which she has here w r ith 
God, those sweet moments, tender affections and vivid 
lights, iu which God makes Himself felt in prayer, are 
but feeble sparks of the fire, which will inflame and con- 
sume her in heaven for all eternity. i4 Ah! Lord," ex- 
claimed St. Chantal, when meditating upon these truths, 
4 " when shall I quit this captivity? I languish and die 
with desire to die." O ! serene day of eternity, which, will 
never be followed by night, because the Supreme 
Felicity will illuminate it, when will it dawn for me ! O 
blessed moment, when I shall no longer have to fear any 
change in my love for my God, and when I shall be 
always loved b} r Him, my sweet Saviour, my God, my 
Spouse, and my All ! ! 

Second Point. 

Oh my soul ! a God for your recompense ! a moment of 
combat to attain it ! an eternity of enjoyment ! is it not 
enough to excite you to love, to reanimate your efforts, to 



78 ON THE HAPPINESS OF HEA VEN. 

support you in the hardest trials ! Often raise your eyes 
to the holy mountain, whence comes all your help. Thus, 
the holy founders of your Order, in the lively expectation 
of the blessings which Were promised them, rose above 
sensible things. As their treasure was in heaven, their 
thoughts and desires were incessantly fixed upon it ; this 
supported them in the difficult way of salvation. "A 
moment more," said they, " and the crown will be given 
me. Perhaps, this is the last occasion I shall have of 
proving my love for God, and this God of goodness will 
give Himself to me !" Ah! can I do too much to secure to 
myself such a blessing? 

Oh my heart ! meditate fully upon these words. What ! 
to enjoy God for all eternity ! Always to see God, to love 
Him, and to be loved by Him ! Canst thou be insensible 
to such happiness ! Canst thou make any account of the 
violence thou must do thyself to merit this happiness ! 
Shouldst thou not have a sovereign contempt, an infinite 
aversion for all that can divide thy love ! O eternity ! 
immense duration ! .impenetrable abyss ! boundless and 
bottomless sea ! O eternity, how consoling thou art ! 
There, my love for God shall have no limit ; there, no 
more fear of losing grace, no more uncertainty of recov- 
ering it, but a full and perfect assurance of being loved ; 
no more labor, no more tears, no more temptations ! The 
sublime state in which Jesus Christ is in heaven is the 
image of the beatitude that awaits me. He has no more 
to suffer, He reposes ; He has no good to desire ; He 
enjoys the embraces of His father ; He has no change to 
fear ; He will reign there eternally. Thus for me, no 
more evils, miseries, trials, disgusts, weariness, heaviness, 
sickness, — no more nature and passions difficult to subdue. 
My body will be impassible, incorruptible, and immortal. 
God, Himself, will wipe away my tears, and their source 
will be dried up forever. I shall repose in the bosom of 
consolation ; death and grief shall have no hold on me. 
As Jesus Christ, in the place of His repose, preserves the 
marks of His glorious wounds, and looks upon them with 
complacency, so, in the enjoyment of the most perfect 
felicity, I will recall these days of tribulation, in which I 
have been humbled, annihilated ; and this memory, so 



ON THE HAPPINESS OF HE A VEN. 79 

sweet and so consoling will form part of my reward. The 
wall which separates me from my God shall be broken 
down ; I shall possess Him, and be possessed by Him 
forevar. All my spiritual and corporal faculties will be 
satiated, not with the delights that here excites and 
content cupidity, but with a superior delight, which 
contains all delights in a superemiueut degree ; a delight, 
of which I could never support the immense weight, if 
God did not transform me into Himself ; a delight, which 
no one can know, but the one who enjoys it, and 
which the one who enjoys it cannot know sufficiently to 
speak of it ; unchanging felicity, which will have no 
vicissitude ! Once united to my God, I can never more be 
separated from Him ; He can never more escape me. I 
shall fear no weariness in an object, infinitely perfect, 
amiable and loving, inexhaustible in His perfections and 
infinite in His attributes. In Him, I shall always find 
something to know and learn ; new beauties and new en- 
joyments will attach me to Him. I will be so satiated 
that I will have neither the eagerness of desire, nor disgust 
of satiety. Always transported with a new joy, I will feel 
eternally the force of a pleasure possessed, and the ardor 
of a love which desires. Always filled with God and what 
He merits, I can no longer offend Him ; I will please Him 
in that abode of life, and I can please Him alone ; I will 
love Him as long as He is God, and this will be forever. 
As I will no longer have any love but for Hira, so will I 
have praises but for Him, praises weak and interrupted in 
this mortal life, but which, in heaven, will be eternal. 
Here, I can praise only the work of His hands ; there, I 
shall praise Him, Himself, I will bless His sovereign 
majesty, His infinite sanctity, His eternal mercy. In His 
presence, I will pour out my acts of thanksgiving, with 
sentiments of respect and gratitude. Here, I can praise 
Him only in the effects of His attributes ; there, I shall 
praise Him in His attributes themselves, which I shall 
know, discover, admire, and adore. Here, I, myself can 
praise Him, but it is my sorrow to live upon an earth, 
whose inhabitants praise Him not, or praise Him so little, 
or so feebly; but there, all voices will be united with 
mine to proclaim the magnificence of His reign, the 



80 ON THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

incomprehensibility of His glory. The elect of all ages 
and nations, united to hundreds of millions of angels, will 
surround His throne, and will discourse on the inexhaustible 
treasures of His power. Among them, I shall be. . . . 
All animated with the sole desire of praising Him, reci- 
procally aid one another by the purest, the sweetest, and 
most tender communications ; loving themselves only 
from the impression made on them by the sight, know- 
ledge, and possession of God ; no impurity of the senses 
will glide into their union, all will be chaste, all spiritual ; 
such will be the privilege of the blessed, such will be 
mine ! O land of the Saints ! O brilliant thrones ! O 
eternal tabernacle ! O blessed and incomprehensible 
eternity ! How sweet it is to contemplate your ineffable 
f elicit} 7 ! Thou, O my God, will be my reward. Is not 
every thing expressed in these words ? Thou, Who art the 
Supreme Good, will be my reward forever! What a 
thought ! Happy with Thy happiness, to which there shall 
be no end ; ravished, attracted, filled, and inundated with 
delight in the bosom of Thy glory for all Eternity ! O 
recompense too great for a vile creature that has done no- 
thing to acquire it ! too great for an unworthy criminal that 
has not even sought it ! too great for a penitent that will 
never do enough to deserve it ! In fact, what can I do 
that is at all proportioned to the reward offered? What 
are all my efforts, all my struggles in the religious life, 
compared to such a crown ! The world exacts much, 
gives little and often nothing, but Thou, O my God, 
Thou dost exact little and give much, or rather, all. Thou 
offerest me, Lord, the crown of immortalitj 7 , demanding 
in return some slight sacrifices that even my own interest 
and repose require ! Thou askest me to do myself a little 
violence for a short time, and have I not already lost too 
much of this short and precious time ! Must I expect to 
lament in an unhappy eternity that time, which is now 
given me only to save me from such a fate, and assure to 
me the eternal home of Thy saints ! O let me, hence- 
forth, live only for Thee and for heaven. Let me live for 
Thee by dying to myself, for Thou art my inheritance, and 
Thee alone, do I desire. The centre of my felicity is in 
Thee ; to Thee the weight of my love will unceasingly 



ON THE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 81 

bear me. To leave Thee for a single moment for the 
pleasures of sense would be to degrade myself. From 
Thee I come ; to Thee I belong ; Thou alone art worthy 
of me. My soul is immortal. Thou alone, my God, 
art immortal and eternal, and shouldst excite my ambition 
and desires ! Even in heaven, whom should I seek if 
Thou wert not there? Created especially for Thy love, 
its delights alone do I desire in the glory of the blessed. 
Without Thee, all the joys of heaven would be nothing to 
me ; Thy beauty and Thy charms alone attract me, O my 
God. O death, amiable and desirable, when wilt Thou 
finish the course of my sad exile, in which I can only love 
my God imperfectly? When wilt Thou enable me to 
see Him unveiled, to love Him with a love no longer 
weighed down by the burden of this body, interrupted by 
the distractions of this life, that is, no longer variable and 
exposed to the danger of temptations ! O Heaven ! O my 
country ! sweet abode of innocence, peace and love, when 
wilt Thou receive me? Alas! how long is my exile! 
Shall I yet dwell long among the children of cedar? Must 
I still lanquish in my captivity? O holy Jerusalem, for 
thee do I sigh ! Wearily I sit upon the bank of the river 
of Babylon, my eyes bathed in tears at the remembrance of 
Sion. AVhen shall I possess Thee, O my God ! When 
shall I possess Thee? Ah ! till that happy moment, my 
felicity on earth will be to have my conversation in 
heaven. I will go there in spirit, heart, and desire, 
until, in reality, I go there. 



FOURTH DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. ON THE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 

First Point. 

" For whom He foreknew. He also predestinated to be made con- 
formable to the image of His Son." — Romans viii., 29. 

Am I of those chosen souls, or am I not? I know not. 
But this I do know, that my conformity with Jesus Christ 
is the only certain sign of my predestination, because it 
6 



82 ON THE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 

is either the cause or effect of it. I have no need of any 
other light or reasoning than this. If I am not like Jesus 
Christ, or if I do not become like Him, I will be lost for- 
ever ; all the other marks of my predestination are very 
equivocal, or rather, they all refer to this. Happy, then, 
am I, if I suffer for justice's sake ; if I walk in the narrow 
way, because in this I resemble Jesus Christ, and God 
treats me as He did His own Son ; God sparing me, I 
will treat myself as I know Jesus Christ has been treat- 
ed. As the branch separated from the vine withers 
as soon as it is deprived of the fertilizing sap, is 
fit only to be burned, so every Christian, separated 
from Jesus Christ, is deserving only of hell. If an ordi- 
nary Christian is obliged to form himself upon this model, 
with much greater reason, a religious soul should regulate 
her conduct by His, and increase the divine union she has 
contracted with Him. The love of her Saviour for her 
made Him become like her ; her love for Him should 
make her like Him, by the imitation of His virtues. She 
entered the leligious state onl}' to lead a life more con- 
formable to that whi^h He led upon earth. She should, 
therefore, imitate all His perfections, and especially His 
humility, poverty, patience, and obedience ; virtues, to the 
practice of which she has more particularly devoted her- 
self, and which are so much the more necessary for her, 
as they are more difficult to corrupted nature. The first 
lesson He gives her by his example, before giving it in 
words, is that of humility : a God incarnate, a God in 
the form of a slave, the Word made flesh, infinite and 
eternal humiliation! At th^f sight of so profound an 
annihilation, what should be hers? She should remember 
that she came from nothing, that she is only dust and 
ashes, that by her sins, she has debased herself beneath 
the- demons, and that she can repair her faults, and with- 
draw herself from the corruption of her heart only by 
humility, which will be for her the key to the most 
precious treasures of grace, and the root of all virtues. 
At the sight of her God, absolute Master of heaven and 
earth, Who chose for His portion not riches but poverty, 
which virtue He consecrated, and somewhat divinised, by 
choosing it for His inseparable companion in all the 



ON THE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 83 

circumstances of His life, will she not discover a hidden 
treasure in a poor state, destitute of the ease and con- 
veniences of life ? Will she not cherish the evangelical 
poverty she professes, and which consists less in that of 
the body than in that of the soul, which annihilates every 
desire and causes her to use every thing, as if she used it 
not? At the sight of Jesus Christ, suffering in every 
part of His body, in all the faculties of His soul, should 
she not love the cross and be glad to share it with Him? 
At the sight of Jesus Christ, submissive and obedient to 
His Father unto the death of the Cross, should she not per- 
fectly and constantly submit her will to that of God? 
Thus should she imitate Jesus in all the other virtues. 
But it is not enough for a religious to imitate her diviue 
Model in those virtues, that every christian should retrace 
in himself. There is in this Man- God something still 
nobler, still more divine, to which she should conform her- 
self. She should enter His soul, and endeavor to retrace 
its features in herself, and in this, properly consists the 
interior and religious life. In the soul of Jesus Christ, 
she must distinguish three kinds of operations, those of 
the mind, and the heart, and the faculty of moving the 
corporal powers and making them act exteriorly. Now 
what was the mind of Jesus Christ? Of what did He 
think? What judgment did He form of all things? 
His thoughts were all of God ; the exterior touched Him 
only in as much as it referred to God. In all creatures, 
and in Himself as in a mirror, He recognized the power, 
wisdom, and greatness of God. If He formed designs, or 
executed projects, it was soleh' for the glory of God. 
Thence His faculty of conversing whole nights with His 
Father without distraction or weariness, of keeping united 
to Him in all the occupations of His mission ; to turn 
thus easily from actions to prayer, we must willingly 
pass from prayer to action. To imitate Jesus in this is 
the first step a religious, who wishes to advance in the 
interior life, should take. Therefore, she should avoid 
and dread those idle thoughts, which are the cause of the 
tumult that agitates her mind, at the time when she should 
be most recollected. Is it loving God with all our mind 
to pornrit that same mind to be occupied with what has 



84 ON THE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 

no relation to Him? Do we lose less time in thinking 
than in speaking uselessly? and should we not fear the 
account we shall have to render of this? 

Exterior solitude avails little, without the interior. In 
long moments of reverie, if we do not think of sin, we 
think of vanities : the passions are strengthened by the 
representations of absent objects, as much as by the en- 
joyment of present objects that flatter them. The spirit 
of prayer is soon lost by one who does not make to her- 
self a law never voluntarily to separate herself from God 
by thought. And, do not say the soul of Jesus Christ, 
united as it was to the Divinity, could not do otherwise 
than think of God. It is true ; but, God as He was, He 
did not fail to employ the exterior means which rendered 
Him ever present to God, and God to Him. That is, He 
saw the world only through necessity. Silence, recollection 
and prayer were His element, and in this, especially, a 
religious should imitate Him. Grace will aid her efforts, 
and, by degrees, there may be formed in her so intimate a 
view of God, that it will, in some sort, effect what was 
brought about in the soul of our Saviour, by union with the 
Divinity. This was the experience of St. Francis 
of Sales and St. Chantal, to whom the presence of God 
was natural. 

The thoughts of Jesus Christ regulated His judgments, 
and what were His judgments? "I judge," said He, 
ki according to what I hear." And what did He hear? 
What did He consult? The judgments of His Father on 
every thing, on every person, every event. His judg- 
ments, therefore, were alway/s equitable, invariable, and 
exempt from error. Thus should a religious judge. 
Whenever it is necessary to deliberate or to decide, she 
should consult and listen to God, in order to learn what 
He judges and approves. Thus, she will see what is 
important for salvation, for eternity, and how different 
the judgments of the world are from those of Jesus Christ. 
The world judges according to its imagination and senses, 
the suggestions of the passions ; accordingly, it calls good 
what our Saviour calls evil, it despises what He esteems, 
and esteems what He despises. She will see this world 
such as it really is, an agreeable dream that vanishes on 



ON THE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 80 

awaking, a charm that enthrals reason. In fine, she will 
learn to judge of things as she will at death, at the 
tribunal of Jesns Christ, and during all eternity. After 
having thus regulated her mind by that of Jesus Christ, 
she will also regulate her heart by His. Now, what was 
this Sacred Heart of our Saviour? What did it love? 
What did it desire? What did it breathe? All the 
movements of the Heart of Jesus tended to glorify His 
Father, to accomplish His will, to see Him known, loved, 
and adored by all creatures. He had no fears, joys, hopes, 
or sadness, no pain, consolation, motion or repose, that 
was not referred to this, which He called His food and 
His drink. What a joy for that divine Heart, whenever 
He could manifest to His Father the transports of His 
tenderness! Then, He listened not to nature or its 
repugnance. To quit heaven, to live in poverty, to die 
upon a cross! . . "What matter," said He, "My 
Father will be glorified ; I will redeem, reconcile, and save 
men, whom My father so much loves." This was 
enough. Every thing else in life was insipid and insup- 
portable to Him. 

St. Francis of S<iles says that a Religious of the Visita- 
tion, from the happy moment, when it was declared to her 
that her life is hidden with Jesus Christ in God, con- 
tracted an indispensable obligation of suffering nothing 
to exijt in her, that is not conformable to the Heart of 
Jesus. The solid devotion to the Sacred Heart, recom- 
mended to her, consists in seeking her repose and conso- 
lation in God, in loving Him, in acting and suffering for 
His glory, in having no care or disquietude but for His 
service. To divide her heart, to permit it to love, to be 
afflicted, to be transported or dejected about a multitude 
of strange objects, is for her a sacrilege. All her beauty 
and glory is to have a heart conformed to the heart of 
her divine Spouse, and her heart, thus regulated, will 
influence all her actions. 

What was it that animated the Heart of Jesus, set it in 
motion, and determined it in all its various operations? 
Always a principle of grace. The spirit of God was the 
soul of His soul. It was not so much He who spoke, 
acted, and prayed, as it was the spirit of His Father that 



86 ON TEE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 

spoke, acted, and prayed in Him. "I speak not of 
Myself," said He. " but the Father who abideth in Me, 
He doth the works." (John xiv., 10). It is not enough 
for a religious to act in a state of grace. To be interior, 
she should act through a spirit of grace. She should not 
go before, but always wait for, and follow the impressions 
of grace. She should repress and mortify her natural 
activity, until God, Himself, so to say, actually applies 
her to what He wishes her to do or say in all things and 
at all times. Even in the duties that are to her taste, she 
should love the will of God, Who ordains them, being ever 
ready to interrupt or quit them, if God should call her to 
other duties for which she has a repugnance. In a word, 
she should serve only as an instrument in the hands of 
God, and remain indifferent to whatever He wills. This 
fidelity to grace will render her least actions almost divine, 
because there is so little of self-love. A word, a sigh, an 
elevation of the mind or heart, will often be more meri- 
torious than great or difficult things, inspired by a fervor 
mingled with self-love. 

Second Point. 

With what bright light hast Thou not surrounded me, O 
my God ! What great truths hast Thou not made 
resound in my ears ! What duties conformable to the 
spirit of my state, and especially of my institute, hast 
Thou not traced out for me ! Since the happy day, when 
I took Thee for my portion, when I died to the world and 
to myself, I should, according/ to the expression of my 
holy founder, live only Thy divine life, and conform 
myself in all things, to Thy example and sentiments. 
Animated by Thy spirit I will then imitate especially Thy 
humility, poverty, meekness, and obedience. I will, if 
possible, be as humble, as poor, as patient, and submis- 
sive as Thou wast ; thus united to Thee, I will not fear to 
be lost. In vain will they tell me that this perfect resem- 
blance is not of precept ; I will answer, is there one 01 
precept? What is there that separates it exactly from 
what is only of counsel? From not aiming at the counsels, 
we often fall short of what is of precept, and in violating 
the precepts, do I not run the risk of being lost? With 



ON THE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST 87 

what confidence shall I, one day, present myself at the 
dread tribunal, where the most just shall have so much cause 
to fear ! What can, then, better reassure me than a resem- 
blance to my Jesus? If I present myself to Him as 
another Jesus, can He vent His anger upon me? But 
if, on the contrary, T present to His eyes, on that day of 
vengeance, a formal opposition to His mind, sentiments, 
words, inclinations, and aversions, what will become of 
me? If I oppose only pride to His annihilations, dissipa- 
tion to His continual union with His Father, impatience 
in pains to His patience in the greatest torments, sensu- 
ality to His fasts, ease and convenience to His mortifica- 
tions, thoughts of pride, ambition and vanity to His head 
crowned with thorns ; an indiscreet levity in my manners, 
a disordely will in my actions to His hands and feet 
fastened to the cross, a continual seeking of my own 
satisfactions and self-love to His body torn with lashes ; 
in short, a life destitute of good works to His precious 
life, immolated to obedience and the salvation of men, 
what a frightful comparison will be there ! Ah ! 1 perceive 
more clearly than ever, that I have an equal need of a model, 
by which to form myself, and of a guide in whose steps I 
may walk to arrive at the happy term of the perfection of 
my state. What other model should I propose to myself? 
What guide should I follow but Thee? Through Thee, I 
shall go to the Father. Thou shalt be my model by thy 
example, and my guide by Thy grace. Thou art the light 
of the world, and I shall collect its rays. I will animate 
myself by Thy spirit, and will study it in my actions. It 
will always tell me what I ought to do, because it will 
always represent to me what Thou didst, or, at least, 
make me conjecture, on such and such an occasion, what 
Thou wouldst have said, or done, or thought. I will 
constantly say to myself : " He, Whom I see so humble, so 
poor, obedient, charitable and resigned, is my Redeemer, 
my Head, my King, my Master, my Model, and my Judge. 
Therefore, through justice, gratitude, duty, interest, fear, 
and love, I should imitate Him." O my Jesus, I will study 
Thy heart and its most intimate sentiments, that ardent 
zeal that consumed it for the glory of the Father, that 
immense charity with which it burns for us, that jealousy 



&8 ON THE IMITATION OF JESUS CMRlSf. 

which it has for my love, a jealousy that so especially 
honors me ! I will unceasingly exclaim : " Sacred Heart ! 
I have loved Thee too little ; I have loved Thee too late, 
perhaps I have not yet begun to love Thee !" Or rather, 
I will address myself to Thee, O divine Jesus ; place me 
in that adorable sanctuary, O my Jesus ! Let me rest in 
that beloved Heart, and let all my passions and inclina- 
tions be there subdued ! Let my imperfect desires, my 
languor, indifference, disgusts, cares, and solicitudes, all 
be consumed in that furnace of love ! Take from me this 
heart of stone, and give me a loving one, and let me be so 
united to Thee, that all may be for Thy love and through 
Thy grace ! 

Alas, Lord ! had I always remained united to Thy spirit, 
and acted only through its impulse, what progress would 
I not have made in virtue ! But too much attention and 
fidelity were necessary. I was content with offering Thee 
my actions, without reflecting that the disposition of my 
heart often belied the expression of my lips. I wished to 
please Thee, but it was according to my own choice, my 
own taste ; or at least, I did not renounce every other 
pleasure ; other motives were necessary to support and 
sustain me. Was this to love Thee, my God? I blush at 
my own heart, and I wish to reform it. Ah ! henceforth, 
pure love shall support my efforts to do all for Thy good 
pleasure, and for this alone ; I will embrace this noble 
and generous manner of acting of which Thou hast given 
me the example, and I will disavow all that opposes it. 
Alarmed nature will groan at seeing torn from her all that 
can serve as a support out of Thee. I will often test 
myself, to see if Thou alone suffice for me, and if, in my 
various actions, I seek but Thee. I will repress my 
sallies, my natural impetuosity, wherever I find them, 
and Thou alone shalt move them. The solidity of this 
nourishment may at first cause pain, because it is that 
hidden manna, which Thou hast promised to generous 
souls ; but hidden as it is, it is, in its simplicity, a manna 
which will take away all other taste. In a word, the 
imitation of Thy virtues, O divine Model, and my con- 
formity with Thee will be such that, if the means of 
obtaining Thy glory in heaven consist equally in contempt 



IMITATION OF OUR HOLY FOUNDERS. &9 

and honor, in poverty and riches, in enjoyment and the 
cross, through respect for Thee, and laying aside every 
other consideration, I will choose rather to be with Thee 
poor, despised, mocked, treated as a criminal, crucified, 
than to be in a state of glory, abundance and pleasure, 
opposed to Thee. The pure desire of being more like 
Thee shall be my only motive. The force of Thy example 
alone will lead me to the practise of every virtue, to the 
faithful observance of my vows. I will make poverty my 
glory and merit, not because riches would have em- 
barrassed, corrupted, or divided my heart in the world, 
but because Thou wast poor. I will obey with pleasure, 
not because I am diffident of self, and that obedience 
gives true repose, but because Thou wast submissive and 
obedient. I will live in the most perfect chastity, not 
because it is easier to abstain from pleasure than to use it 
in moderation, but because Thou hast been chaste. In a 
word, I will accomplish faithfully all my duties, only that 
I may advance in perfection, thus to become the living 
image, the perfect expression of Thy life. 



FOURTH DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION — IMITATION OF OUR HOLY FOUNDERS, 
AND THE SAINTS OF OUR ORDER. 

First Point. 
" We are the children of Saints."— (Tobias h\, 18.) 

It was thus Tobias animated himself to merit heaven. 
He often considered the glory of the patriarchs, his 
fathers, now in heaven, and this consideration led him to 
retrace their conduct in his own. In the same spirit, St. 
Augustine incessantly said to himself: " Why cannot I 
do what such and such have done?" Thus, should a 
Religious of the Visitation sa} T to herself : God has called 
me to sanctity, not only because He has placed me in a 
holy state, but in a state that has saints for its founders 



90 IMITATION OF OUR HOLY FOUNDERS. 

and which has formed numberless saints, whose rare and 
eminent virtues, if not solemnized by the Church, have 
been recognized in my. institute. Woe, then, to me if I 
do not profit by so many motives and means of sanctifi- 
cation. Is not Jesus Christ my model as well as theirs? 
Has He done less to merit my attachment? Were they 
not of the same nature as I? and had they not as many 
obstacles to overcome? Have I not the same helps and 
rewards to expect? Have I not even an additional grace in 
their example? An excellent privilege possessed by a 
Religious of the Visitation is that everything in her state 
is holy : the rule she follows, the instructions she receives, 
the employment she fulfils, the habit she wears, the food 
she takes and which, according to the opinion of the holy 
fathers, is the fruit of the chanty of the faithful, and the 
price offered for the salvation of souls. But what should 
most powerfully animate her to the sanctity which, in the 
intention of God, is her portion, is, that the very place in 
which she dwells, the ground upon which she treads, is the 
land of the saints. Shall, then, every thing except her 
heart be hoi}? God has given her, in her holy founders and 
in the sisters who have preceded her, models of perfection 
according to whom, after Jesus Christ, He wishes her to 
form herself. He has traced out in their persons the way 
she must take to reach heaven. In following them, she 
walks safely and cannot go astray. The imitation of 
their conduct is the pledge of her salvation. It is, then, 
her interest, and her glory to conform herself to them, 
and, in some manner, to cloth/e herself with their virtues. 
If she cannot do all that they have done for God, 
for each soul has its peculiar way, she should at least 
imitate their patience, humility, recollection, and union 
with Jesus Christ, for these virtues are necessary for 
all. In the lives of her holy founders and the saints of 
her order, she must observe that happiness consists in 
sufferings ; glory and greatness, in humiliations ; and true 
riches, in poverty suffered for the love of God. She must 
see that, to love ourselves as we ought, we must hate our- 
selves, and to save ourselves, we must lose ourselves. 
She will also learn, that the glory of the creature consists 
in glorifying her Creator, and that, as she never glorifies 



IMITATION OF OUR HOLY FOUNDERS. 91 

Him more effectively than by the sacrifice of all that she 
possesses, she is never happier and more glorious, than 
when she makes these sacrifices. Such were the principles 
that animated all these holy models in their conduct, and 
such motives should direct her in all her actions. She should 
faithfully imitate their spirit, their sentiments, the purity 
of their intention, their interior lives, their scrupulous 
observance of the rules, their contempt of the world, their 
recollection and retirement, their watchfulness over their 
senses, their detachment from creatures, and from their 
own will, their abnegation, their abandonment to God, 
their absolute poverty, their charity for their neighbor, 
and their ardent love for Jesus Christ and His blessed 
Mother. Such is the manner in which she must conform 
her life to theirs. Without this imitation, all her exterior 
veneration for them is vain and useless. The tribute she 
owes them is, not to publish their praises, but to make 
their virtues her own. In vain will she preserve their 
relics with care, if she endeavors not to preserve and trans- 
mit their spirit. In vain will she have them represented in 
pictures, and distribute everywhere copies of them, if she 
be not their living image. In vain will she erect altars to 
them, and lead others to do the same, if she dishonors them 
by her scandals. The veneration that is due them will 
subsist without her, as well as their power and the good 
odor of their virtues, but the lustre which they have shed 
upon their Order, and which their Order sheds on them, de- 
pends, as it were, upon her. This portion of their glory 
is in her hands ; she must preserve and increase it, and 
avoid, even at the peril of her life, ever tarnishing it in 
the slightest degree. It has as yet suffered no stain ; she 
should at least contribute her share to preserve its lustre, 
and act as though the interests of the whole institute 
were confided to her ; as if the honor or shame of the 
entire body depended upon her. Such is the engagement, 
she has contracted by her profession ; such is the sacred 
duty prescribed by filial tenderness for the holy founders 
and first mothers of her Order. The only proof of love 
she can give them is to imitate them. What they expect 
from her is, that she be conformed to them in every re- 
spect, as the Apostle St. Paul told his new-born children 



92 IMITAttON .OF OUR HOLY FOUNDER'S. 

in Jesus Christ. This resemblance ought not to be purely 
exterior. It is not enough for her to wear the same habit, 
to have contracted the same obligations, to be subject to 
the same duties, to have embraced the same kind of life, 
to be employed in the same exercises of piety and religion. 
Tepidity may have all this in common with fervor. But 
it is in her heart that she must resemble them ; she must 
ornament her soul with the same virtues, which render 
theirs worthy of the divine Spouse. Without this perfect 
conformity, she has no real resemblance to them, no 
real love for them, and no protection to expect from them. 
Their hearts are, without doubt, sanctuaries accessible to all. 
The miracles wrought by their intercession are innumera- 
ble and universal ; they are incessantly multiplied in 
favor of all those who invoke their name or their assist- 
ance. But although their hearts are favorable to all who 
petition them, they watch more carefully over their Order, a 
standing monument of their love and glory. They watch 
with more predilection over each of their daughters, the 
precious members of their institute. Now, this title 
which binds the holy founders to the religious of their 
Order, in like manner binds the sisters to them. 
They must be able to address themselves to them 
as their daughters, without fearing to be disowned ; 
or rather, the marked traits of a perfect resemblance 
should speak for them and announce them. Otherwise, 
they would claim in vain the rights of their profession. 
They would uselessly solicit the help and powerful pro- 
tection of these saints. They would seek, without hope, 
the blessing of their glorious Father and their hoty 
Mother, and the prayers of their sisters who are justified 
before God. These saints would speak thus : " You ask us 
to plead your cause with God, to obtain for you His blessing 
and assistance ; but is the name you take due to you? Is 
the title you allege truly yours? Are you really our 
daughter, since your sentiments and works are so little in 
conformity with our maxims and examples.?" Terrible 
reproaches which announce but too well to a daughter of 
the institute, who has been unfaithful in following the 
example of St. Francis de Sales, St. de Chantal, and 
other saints of her Order, how dreadful will be the venge- 



IMITATION OF OUR HOLY FOUNDERS. 93 

ance these saints will one day exercise against her, in 
quality of judges. In the Gospel, the divine Spouse 
knows not the foolish virgins, because the Lamb of God 
is followed by prudent virgins only. On the day of judg- 
ment, these inexorable judges will rise against her with 
iudignation, will make a most rigorous examination into 
her life, and bitterly reproach her for her conduct. To her 
earnest entreaties to open to her the nuptial hall, they will 
answer only by this fearful judgment, this terrible and 
humiliating sentence : ■" I know you not !" What shame, 
what confusion for me, if these frightful words : " I know 
you not," are, one day, addressed to me ! 

Second Point. 

Thus, however, I shall be disowned by God, by my holy 
founders, and the other saints of my Order, if I do not con- 
form to their example. What a shame for me to dwell in 
an institute, in which the primitive fervor still exists, in 
wnich the Rule is enforced, the constitutions are observed ; 
in which charity reigns, with all the traits that distinguish 
it from caprice, nature and humor ; in which there is peace, 
union, deference, and respect among its members, and in 
which I show but irregularity, contempt of the Rule, oppo- 
sition of mind and manners to the principles and examples 
of my models and sisters who were before me, and who 
live with me ! I am changeable, suspicious, different, sharp, 
and contentious. In an institute, where obedience gives 
the movement to every thing without resistance, incloci- 
lity, or complaint, where the hours are marked, employ- 
ments fulfilled, occupations followed ; where I see but 
innocence of manners, penance, mortification of the senses, 
retreat, modesty and prayer, and where, in a word, all 
justice is fulfilled, I am remarked for my indocility, and in- 
dependence ; I follow but my own inclinations, satisfy my 
senses, show wordly manners, hold wordly discourses ; in 
fine, in a state where all should tend to my sanctification, 
I find my reprobation. Oh deplorable misfortune ! Was 
it for this, that God called me into His holy sanctuary? 
that He used towards me a providence of predilection? 
that He chose me, and that I, myself, chose Him? 



94 IMITATION OF OUR HOLY FOUNDERS. 

Were these views those of my holy founders for me? 
The love I owe them, the protection I expect from them, 
and the glory I am obliged to procure for them, are so 
many motives, equally tender and powerful, to solicit me 
to follow their examples. How can I deny their right 
over my heart? Ah! this heart, unjust, ungrateful, 
and insensible as it has hitherto been, is now moved 
and softened. Complete thy work, O Lord, pour into it 
the unction of Thy grace, and grant that perfect conformity 
to my models may be forever the fruit of this grace. 

The life I live in God, I received in your bosom, O my 
holy founder, glorious St. Francis of Sales, most tender 
of fathers ! Thou didst provide all the means necessary 
to preserve it. I belong to you, I dwell in your house ; 
you have presided at my alliance with my heavenly Spouse, 
and I will endeavor to retain the fatherly tenderness thou 
hast ever had for me ! O holy and august mother, what 
did you not suffer to beget me to Jesus Christ ! How 
many combats, renunciations, sacrifices, solicitudes, and 
contradictions, have I not cost you ! What compensation, 
must you not expect from me in return ! What honor have 
you not a right to exact from my heart! You limit this 
compensation, this honor, to the imitation of your virtues ; 
can I faU, henceforth, to make this my only care? Can I 
be in opposition to you. and yet be persuaded that I love 
you? No, the motive, foundation and bond of conformity 
in true love is union of hearts ; if, then, my heart neglects 
to form itself on yours, in vain would I make the most 
tender and affectionate protestations. By the light of the 
saints, you discern in God those, who truly belong to you, 
from those who have ceased to be yours. Ah ! rise not 
up against me either in this life, or the next ! I have 
cooled your goodness in my regard : I have weakened 
}'our favorable dispositions ; but do not let them be entirely 
extinguished, — turn not wholly from me. Avenge your- 
self by beseeching the Lord to deal with me as God, that 
is, in the rigor of justice that strikes without destroying ! 
However difficult, however austere, however perfeet, may 
be your path, I will no longer waver ; your foot-prints 
will guide my steps, and I confidently hope that you will 
support me by your powerful mediation. And you, O 



ON THE VOW OF POVERTY. 95 

glorious mother, and venerable and august sisters, who have 
preceded me. ah ! must I not change very much to be- 
come like you ! With what vigilance will I not watch over 
my senses, my will, my feelings, my heart, my discourses, 
— my whole conduct ! How much I will have to retrench, 
to correct, to add, to perfect. Within me must be formed 
a new religious, and the difficulty of the change, far from 
weakening my resolution, will serve to animate my efforts ; 
the labor will not intimidate me. Solicit for me the 
assistance of Him, Who inspires and calls me, for, with 
His aid, there is nothing I cannot do. Obtain for me 
that powerful grace that touches the heart, animates the will 
and enlightens the mind ; causes good to be loved be- 
cause it makes it known ; gives the desire and power to 
practice what it commands. Henceforth, since I have the 
happiness of possessing the same quality, title, obligations, 
and assistance which you had, I will fulfil perfectly the 
same duties and engagements, by perfect docility to 3'our 
lessons and maxims, and inviolable fidelity in following 
your example. 



FOURTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE. — ON THE VOW OF POVERTY. 

" There is no man who hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, 
or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for My sake and for the 
gospel, who shall not receive a hundred times as much, now, in 
this time and, in the world to come, life ever- 
lasting."— Mark x., 29, 30. 

Poverty is a virtue, which has for its end to moderate 
the cupidity natural to man, and it permits him to possess 
the things of this earth only in obliging him to detach 
his heart entirely from them, in order to attach it only to 
God and the things of heaven. This virtue is of precept 
and obl-.ges every christian. It is so essential to Christi- 
anity that, without it, there is no salvation. There is, 
moreover, a poverty of counsel and perfection, which is 
styled Evangelical Poverty, and obliges us not only to de- 
tach ourselves in affection from the things of earth, but 



96 ON THE VOW OF POVERTY. 

also to divest ourselves of them in reality and without re- 
serve. To this a Religious of the Visitation engages her- 
self by vow ; she can possess nothing as her own ; nor re- 
ceive, give, borrow, or lend anything, nor dispose of any- 
thing without the permission of her superiors. By her 
vow, she is deprived of the dominion of and attachment 
to all that she uses, so that she would sin mortally, 
if she disposed of any thing whatever, which, in 
matter of theft, would suffice for a mortal sin. Thus, 
this religious has no longer any action or pretention over 
the possessions of this world, and, if she were to demand 
again the inheritance she has quitted, the world could say 
to her : 4 ' Who are you ? Where do you come from ? 
You were buried on such a day, and there are authentic 
registers to testify that you are no longer of the world." 
Moreover, she has even divested herself of what belongs 
to the Community, both as to the ownership, which she 
cannot have, and the use, which must be subordinate to the 
will of religion, and not to hers. St. Francis of Sales 
says, that this renunciation consists in an entire and 
absolute divestment of all things, and especially of the 
heart. Therefore, a Religious of the Visitation should not 
allow anything created to occupy her affections. She 
should beware of loving, desiring, or attaching herself to 
anything whatever, for the covetousness of the heart, 
when we seek to destroy it, catches hold of everything it 
can. Above all, she should distrust a too eager desire to 
increase the temporal goods of the Community, for, then, 
cupidity would only change its object, and after having 
sacrificed the goods of this world with one hand, she would 
take them back with the other. This vice of possession 
in general has been condemned by the councils, anathema- 
tized by their canons, and expressly forbidden by the 
rules of all orders, especially by that of the Visitation, 
in which the spirit of poverty, and the most entire detach- 
ment is everywhere recommended, required in everything, 
and where it reigns most perfectly. Thence, the excellent 
practice which St. Francis of Sales has established of 
changing every year the cells, furniture, etc., so that no 
attachment may be had to anything. Thence, the law of 
this holy founder, which, while it requires that every house 



ON THE VOW OF POVERTY. 97 

of the institute shall have sufficient revenues, and that, 
both in sickness and in health what is necessary be given 
to the sisters, — ordains that everything be common among 
them, that each sister live in perfect detachment from what 
she uses, and that they who wish for mine and thine be put 
out of the door. Therefore, there cannot be any kind of 
ownership among them. Dowries, presents, everything 
must be in common, according to the terms of the Consti- 
tution. When everything is said, nothing is excepted. Such 
is the perfect detachment required by the Vow of Poverty. 
" In this vow," adds St. Francis of Sales, lk a religious 
must distinguish what is of obligation from what is of 
perfection." The essential consists in doing nothing with- 
out dependence, in giving or receiving nothing unknown 
to superiors, in not appropriating to oneself monies or 
chance presents, any more than the fixed revenues of the 
monastery ; in a word, in renouncing all things, and 
forbidding one's self the disposal of anything. But a soul 
who aspires to perfection will not be satisfied with this. 
She denies herself all superfluity, confines herself to what 
is necessary, and to the greatest simplicity. She has not 
only the exterior of poverty, but also its spirit and senti- 
ments. She drives from her heart the least desire of 
having anything ; she abandons herself to the care of those 
who have charge of her. She simply exposes her wants, 
but is not troubled, still less does she murmur, if they are 
not relieved. It is her happiness to feel little inconve- 
niences, and she joyfully embraces the occasions ; she com- 
plains only of suffering too little. She is wholly indifferent 
to all things, contented with everything, looking upon 
herself as a poor person who receives alms. She en- 
deavors to economize her time as well as everything else, 
remembering that the Apostle says : " He who does not 
labor, does not deserve to eat," and that sinful man has 
been condemned to eat his bread at the sweat of his brow. 
This perfect detachment places her soul in the happy 
disposition to receive the gifts of God in abundance. She 
becomes more watchful over herself, that, if the com- 
munity has been enriched by her renunciation of terrestrial 
goods, she may not glory in it, and, as says St. Augustine, 
" become more proud in despising riches than she was in 
7 



98 ON THE VOW OF POVERTY. 

possessing them ;" she makes no account of what she has 
sacrificed for God, and never prefers herself to those who 
may have brought less to the house. Her poverty is 
perfect, and she even renounces the honor that attends her 
engagement. Oh, what rapid progress in sanctity will 
not such a soul make ! The flesh pots of Egypt have been 
abandoned, and God will nourish her with the manna of 
His divine consolations. 

According to these principles, a daughter of the 
Visitation should not be satisfied with not violating her 
vow. There is, it is true, a distance between trans- 
gression and perfection, but it is much safer for her to 
practice what is most conformable to the spirit of her 
founder, than to seek only the essential ; for nature is 
avaricious, and is never contented ; the more we give it, 
the more it wants. Happy are they, who early accustom 
themselves to retrench from nature all that is not absolutely 
necessary. They will, not only be more contented than 
those who allow more liberty to nature, but will also be better 
disposed for divine communications according to this say- 
ing of the Imitation : " Quit all, and you shall find all." 
They will find, above all, the peace and union of hearts, 
which is cemented by perfect renunciation ; for those little 
manifestations of superiority that easily arise in houses, 
from which ownership is not entirely banished, need not be 
feared by them. It is selfishness that alters common charity. 
They who have it in their power to give pleasure are 
sought after, whilst the others are despised. Thence pro- 
ceed particular friendships, and a thousand other disorders, 
which are contrary to perfect union. What a happy 
privilege, therefore, for a daughter of the Visitation to be 
in an order, in which true renunciation is required, loved, 
and faithfully practised, and in which, she may enjoy, as 
did the primitive faithful, whom her holy founder had 
principally in view, peace, joy, and perfect repose ! She 
has reserved nothing in her sacrifices, and she has re- 
nounced, according to the terms of the Constitution, " not 
only the property and interest or fruits, but also the use 
and disposition of all that may, on her account, be given or 
assigned to the community." Further, she could not carry 
her renunciation. However, she should persevere in it, and 



OF THE VOW OF POVERTY. 99 

take back nothing of what she has sacrificed to the Lord, 
that, having kept God alone for her possession, He may 
one day be her inheritance. Such a poverty has great 
claims and powerful charms for a true religious, and yet, 
it is very far from the poverty of her divine Spouse, which, 
although free and voluntary, was so painful and humili- 
ating. 

The poverty of Jesus was painful : Master of heaven 
and earth, He was born in a stable, His blessed 
Mother having no other place into which to retire. A 
crib is His cradle, and what is not wanting to the last and 
least of men is refused Him. What has He not to suffer 
in His poverty? He has nothing, even absolute neces- 
saries are wanting to Him. He is without light and 
warmth in the midst of winter. Two animals only warm 
Him with their breath, and furnish Him with a little hay 
and straw on which to repose. This poverty follows Him 
into Egypt, to Nazareth, throughout the whole course of 
His public life, and even to Calvary. He is born of poor 
parents. He passes thirty years in the house of a poor 
mechanic who lives by his trade, and whom He assists in 
his labors. He travels on foot over towns and villages, 
without provisions, and without assistance, save from the 
charity of the people whom He instructs. His lot is 
more severe than that of the animals, as He, Himself, 
says : " The foxes have their dens, the birds of the air 
their nests, but the Son of man has not whereon to lay 
His head." At the end of His painful career, He dies in 
the most extreme indigence, having nothing to dispose 
of; He is even stripped of His clothes, which His execu- 
tioners divide among themselves, and nothing remains to 
Hirn but a crown of thorns, a cross, nails, pains, and 
ignominies. At the sight of such a life, what does the 
true religious say? "My poverty," she exclaims, " when 
compared with that of Jesus, cannot be called poverty. I 
do not possess anything in private, but I do not want for 
anything. In what I call necessary, how much super- 
fluity, is there not? How much self-seeking and 
delicacy? Is not suffering essential to true poverty? 
And can I believe that it is to poverty such as I practice, 
that the promises of God, my Saviour, and my Model, 



100 ON THE VOW OF POVERTY. 

have been made? Do not such great prerogatives, as 
that hundred-fold, those heavenly consolations, that place 
of distinction in glory, the right to judge men on the last 
day, necessarily suppose greater privations than mine? 
Can the secular, who is often in want of many things, be 
judged by me who am, perhaps, unwilling to want any- 
thing? To judge others, must we not show virtues to 
condemn them? a detachment which accuses their in- 
satiable desires? a renunciation that rises up against 
their abundance? Now, what is my detachment, my 
renunciation ? My poverty is a grace and favor of Provi- 
dence, which has delivered me from temporal cares, 
from the embarrassment of riches, from the danger that 
follows them, from the trouble of collecting them, the 
sorrow of losiug them, the injustice of acquisition, the 
pride of possessiou, and the crime of unlawful disposes- 
sions. Such are the advantages of my poverty, but does 
it not procure me even more than the ordinary advantages 
of riches, by suffering me to want nothing, and, at the 
same time, does it not deliver me from the disquietudes of 
worldly possessions ? What, then, must I do to be truly poor 
in my state, to imitate as closely as possible Jesus, my 
model? In bad times, when retrenchment becomes neces- 
sary for a house, or when, God permitting it, a little 
hardness in superiors, or avarice in officers, shall give me 
occasion to suffer something, to want for something, 
I will suffer joyfully, and in the most profound silence. 
Never shall I be heard to complain of my food, clothing, 
or lodging, or that others are preferred before me. I will 
say to myself : How many would think themselves blessed 
to be as I am. If Jesus Christ had been provided with 
what is given to me, could He have been called poor? 
To the merit of suffering, I will add that of doing without 
a multitude of trifles, which nature, through a kind of 
avarice makes me ask or receive. 1 will often examine 
what I can retrench from what I use. In the use of 
things which I cannot do without, I will endeavor to 
practice poverty. Through a love of great simplicity, 1 
will endeavor to draw nearer to Jesus Christ, I will 
often say to myself : Between the poverty of Jesus Christ 
and mine, Oh ! what a distance ! His was sensible and 



02? THE VO W OF PO YER TT. 101 

suffering ; mine is less a privation than a grace. His 
was humiliating and rendered Him contemptible and 
dependent in men's eyes. They looked upon Him as the 
son of a poor carpenter, and His poverty appeared suited 
to His station. His wants needed assistance, and made 
Him depend on creatures. Does my poverty bear the 
same character? Do not reasonable creatures respect us 
for having left all for Jesus Christ? Does not my poverty 
make me independent in regard to the world? . . . But, 
if the lowliness of my state should draw some contempt 
upon me from the world, or if my community should let 
me want for something in a time of sickness, or some 
real necessity, would not this be an occasion of praising 
God, and saying: "Thus was Jesus Christ treated, and 
what a happiness for me to resemble Him at least two or 
three times in my life." He came unto His own and His 
own received Him not. The forget fulness shown me 
recalls the corantept and repulses that He experienced ; 
dependence on my superiors, to which my vow of poverty 
essentially obliges me, reminds me of that in which He 
lived. Woe to me, if, through independence, I would 
rather want for a thing than ask for it ! I should then 
cease to be poor in mind and heart, and it is especially to 
this kind of poverty that the kingdom of heaven belongs. 
I should then cease to love true poverty, and my holy 
founders wish us to cherish it with a filial tenderness. 
This is the expression they use, and they would 
have this love consist in rejoicing at feeling the effects 
of poverty. Thus the greater number of those who laid 
the foundations of the houses of my institute acted. We 
find, in the history of the foundations, that all was wanting, 
and that they cherished their poverty, and always looked 
upon it as too easy and convenient. We read, that in 
proportion as those who succeeded them had the con- 
veniences of life, they carried even to scruple their delicacy 
on the obligations of poverty. They would have regarded 
as a sort of sacrilege the loss of the smallest part of the 
goods that had been offered to God. They forgot them- 
selves willingly, to think only of the good ol the commu- 
nity, id order to leave to those who would follow them 
the fruit of their long and mortifying retrenchments. 



102 ON THE VOW OF POVERTY. 

And, as to permissions, the oldest even, broken with age 
and weakness, were seen to seek their superiors to ask to 
give, lend, or receive trifles. In what school had they 
learned the interior spirit that animated them in the 
practice of such poverty? In the school of Jesus Christ 
and my holy founders. 

Teach me, also, O my divine Saviour, to cherish this 
virtue, which Thou hast consecrated in Thy person, to 
which Thou hast called me also by Thy grace, and the 
special privilege of my religious profession ! Give me its 
spirit, that I may esteem and love it, and that it may be 
the object of my tender affection. May I be poor in 
effect, and still more so, in will. Far from me all desires, 
sentiments, fears, hopes, every complaint or murmur as 
to what may be wanting to me, or not to my taste ! Far 
from me to seek or desire abundance in deprivation, — the 
pleasures of life in poverty ! I will regard as an alms 
all that is given for my use. Far from me every shadow 
of attachment or independence ! I will dispose of nothing 
but by the authority and in the name of religion, and with 
express permission. I will not presume on permissions, 
or act on those artfully gained, or too favorably inter- 
preted. In the use of things even, I will remember, that 
the same authority which allows me the use of them, has 
always the right to dispose of them. Far from me all 
delicacy, all self-seeking ; I will refuse all superfluity, and 
for my needs, will confine myself to what is necessary, to 
the greatest simplicity. I will not disturb the beautiful 
order of uniformity by adding thereto anything personal 
or singular. Far from increasing or extending what is 
absolutely necessary, I will think only of curtailing as 
much as I am permitted, so as to approach nearer the 
state of Jesus Christ's poor. For His sake, I wish to be 
poor, as He was. There must be no reserve in the 
holocaust I have offered Him. 

Have I, in order to avoid its perils, despoiled myself 
of the goods of the world, only to run the risk of, perhaps, 
greater dangers in religious poverty? Having broken the 
strongest chains, shall I allow myself to be surprised, 
and held captive by weak bonds? Have I made the vow 
of poverty only to lose all its merit before God ? Will I 



02? MOR TIFICA tlON. 103 

lie to the Holy Ghost, by taking back a portion of what I 
have consecrated to Him ? I have purchased the kingdom 
of heaven b} T poverty, which is its price : why will I lose 
this precious treasure, by retaining the smallest part of 
what I have offered and given? No, Lord, I wish to be 
poor in heart and body. To whatever deprivation, this 
poverty may lead me, it will never be such as Thine ; it 
will never be comparable to the heavenly gifts which 
Thou hast promised to it here below, or to that infinite 
recompense Thou hast destined for it in heaven. 



FIFTH DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. — ON MORTIFICATION. 

First Point. 

" Because for Thy sake, we are killed all the day long; we are 
counted as sheep for the slaughter." — Ps. xliii., 22. 

Man in the state of innocence tended to good without 
any difficulty. His passions were subject to his reason, 
and his reason to God. Man sinned, and his disobedience 
drew upon him the indignation of God. If he was not 
condemned like the angels, it was because the divine 
mercy had pity on the frailty of his nature. God even 
gave him His own Son for a Redeemer. But, notwith- 
standing this ineffable benefit, man, in punishment of his 
revolt, will feel within himself and in his posterity a part 
of the vengeance of God. The soul which commands the 
passions, the senses, the understanding, the memory, the 
will, will become the master of them ; but, if it is subject 
to them, she can only, with a great effort, afterwards 
resume the right she has lost. It is only with violence 
that we can now do good. The germ of concupiscence, 
which we have inherited from Adam, incessantly produces 
fruits of death, and it is only by mortification that we 
can weaken, not destroy it. Every christian must wage 
a war against himself, to live according to the spirit, 



104 ON MORTIFICATION. 

amidst the continual assaults of his passions. But a 
religious, who owes her very name to true and solid 
mortification, who should be truly dead to herself, and 
always conformed to Jesus Christ, is more especially 
obliged to this. A penitent for her own sins, a public 
penitent for the salvation of men, what mortification do 
not these titles impose on her? St. Francis of Sales, after 
St. Paul and the Council of Trent, requires that she bear 
the mortification of Jesus Christ in her body, and become 
like Him by a crucified life. Now, what was the mortifi- 
cation of our divine Eedeemer? From the first instant 
that He appeared on earth, until the moment of His great 
sacrifice on Calvaiy, He carefully embraced every occa- 
sion of mortifying Himself interiorly and exteriorly. 
Soon after His birth, He offered the first fruits of His 
Blood, as a pledge of the resolution He had formed, to 
shed even the last drop of it. In the crib He combated, 
by His destitution, all the natural desires of man for 
riches, honors, pleasures and liberty ; and what He did 
on entering into the world, He did until He went out of 
it. To prove to us the necessity of mortification, He 
wrought a miracle by suffering in His Body, and refusing 
it the impassability which His soul enjoyed. This God 
of goodness, who worked prodigies to mitigate for some 
of the martyrs the sensation of their pains, chose to work 
one, that He might Himself, be capable of suffering every- 
thing. He never granted any satisfaction to His senses. 
He lived with coarse and imperfect Apostles ; He patiently 
supported and concealed their imperfections ; He fore- 
saw and permitted their treasons. He was consumed with 
zeal for the glory of His father, Whom He saw dishonored. 
He foresaw and suffered incessantly the torments of His 
passion. In a word, sufferings of body and of mind, morti- 
fication of the senses and the heart, abnegation, and ab- 
solute renunciation, these where his examples and maxims. 
Such, also, were the precepts and conduct of the saints, 
and particularly of St. Francis of Sales and St. Chan tab 
Animated by the same spirit as Jesus Christ, their mor- 
tification extended to the least things. They deprived 
themselves of all that could give them any satisfaction ; 
they retrenched every pleasure and convenience ; the} 7 



ON MOlt TIFICA TION. \ 05 

granted nothing to their taste, refused everything to their 
senses, and even converted the reliefs which nature de- 
manded into occasions of sacrifice and suffering. Their 
interior mortification surpassed infinitely the exterior. 
The heaviest blows were dealt on the heart. There the 
war was continual, and without relaxation. Always 
occupied in eradicating and destroying, they had so per- 
fectly conquered nature, that the virtues most opposite 
to their characters, meekness and moderation in one, de- 
tachment and contempt for the world in the other, had 
become natural to them. How many motives for a Re- 
ligious of the Visitation to esteem, love, and embrace 
mortification? Excesses are forbidden by the Rule, and 
she should, scrupulously, avoid them. But, at the same 
time, should she not distrust self-love, which often covers 
itself with the cloak of discretion and obedience to avoid 
evangelical penance. We know well that we should not 
overburden ourselves ; this would even be a fault in the 
?yes of religion ; but is this fault much to be feared, 
in the greater part? Are superiors now constrained to 
use their authority to moderate fervor? Constitutions 
are weaker, but, would we not have more strength if we 
had more zeal for our advancement? Discretion is only 
recommended to those who might go too far. We do not 
go too far, whilst we preserve sufficient strength to follow 
the Rule, and be useful to the house. But those who labor 
most in a community, are, almost always, those who are 
most mortified ; whilst those, who are idle or less occupied, 
are always the most anxious to procure themselves con- 
veniences and gratifications, and the most disposed to 
complain and murmur, when anything is wanting to them. 
As to obedience, it is true that nothing should be done, 
on this point, without the permission of superiors. Such 
is the spirit of our holy founders, who often condemn 
in their writings, the disobedience which reigns in exces- 
sive mortifications. But, when the}" require us to render 
an account to our superiors, is it not that they may judge 
if we do enough, as well as if we do too much? When 
they prescribe obedience, they require that of mortifying 
one's self in what the rule and superiors ordain. This 
mortification of the body, besides being a precept, also 



105 ON MORTIFICATION. 

satisfies for sin. Now, have we not many to expiate? It 
keeps the flesh in servitude, and usually represses its re- 
volts. It draws upon us, those graces of preservation which 
we need so much. It prepares us to receive the 
heavenly light and to enjoy the delights of the spirit ; is 
not this lively and pure faith what is wanting to us, and 
what we should the most desire ? It renders us conform- 
able to Jesus Christ, and has not a religious, above 
all, promised to imitate Him? 

But, the solid mortification, a religious should more par- 
ticularly imitate in our Saviour, is the self-renunciation 
and abnegation, of which He has set her the example. 
The most crucifying austerities are not always the most 
efficacious against self-love, whose subtle poison often 
finds means to insinuate itself even into these very austeri- 
ties. The violence done to the body does not always 
reach the heart, and we sometimes see very lively passions 
in a mortified flesh. We fulfil to the letter, and even to 
scrupulosity, the mortifications ordered by the Rule, and 
would be ashamed to ask or accept dispensations. It often 
happens, that believing ourselves inspired to do more, we 
solicit, and even extort permissions which authorize an 
increase of mortifications. But what becomes of this love 
for mortification, when there is question of turning it 
against the inclinations of the heart? Frequently nothing 
is less dead, in an attenuated and dying body, than 
pride. Often this vice still animates and influences all 
its actions. Concentrated in the heart, it lies there in 
peace, with all the refinements of sensuality, with all the 
love of independence, with all possible aversion to con- 
straint, with all the delicacies, vanities, artifices, and the 
most natural and immortified passions and affections. 
One passes for, or at least, looks upon herself as austere 
and crucified ; but how do we act, when it is necessary to 
mortif}? our tongue and keep silence ; to mortify our eyes, 
and guard them ; to mortify our palate and renounce our 
taste ; to mortify our sensuality and retrench some 
convenience and satisfaction? We grow thin through 
excessive austerities, but, how do we act on those occa- 
sions, when it is indispensable to mortify our mind, and 
repress a retort ; to mortify our vanity and bear an in- 



02? MO H TIFICA TIOX. 107 

jur} r ; to mortify our will and bend to obedience , to 
mortify our inclinations and make incessant war against 
them? 

Second Point. 

O my God ! I acknowledge that I have deceived myself. 
I have taken some practices of mortification for mortifi- 
cation itself. I have dealt some blows, but in the air, 
since they did not attack my heart, which is my most 
powerful enemy. Better instructed in the manner of 
combating it, I will destroy it little by little, by fatiguing 
it without ceasing ; I will refuse it all that it asks ; I will 
take from it all that pleases it ; I will subject it to all 
that can restrain or contradict it. I will make it feel in 
everything a continual and unremitting mortification. A 
single day given to this terrible adversary would strengthen 
it more, than entire years could weaken it. I will remem- 
ber that the penance I ought to do for my sins should be a 
supplement, a compensation, and as a representation of the 
pains of hell, which they have merited ; consequently, that 
it should be in some manner infinite, having no limits save 
those which obedience enjoins ; it should have a sort of 
eternity, that is to say, last as long as my life. Whatever 
I suffer through mortification is not comparable to that 
which is remitted by it ; its pains will be momentary and 
supportable, whilst in hell I would suffer eternally without 
relief. 

All those who belong to Thee, O Jesus, have crucified 
their flesh, with its concupiscences. We cannot follow 
Thee but in carrying our cross. All the saints, particu- 
larly my holy founders, have mortified their bodies, lest 
they should lose their souls. What a shame then for me, 
not only to spare a criminal body, but, even to indulge 
and pamper it. What a confusion for me, O divine Jesus, 
if, at Thy judgment, Thou shouldst compare me with 
persons, who in the world, have been more mortified than 
I ; who clothe themselves with instruments of penance and 
refuse the most innocent pleasures ! What reproaches 
Thou wilt make me, if I treat myself in religion with 
more delicacy and attention, than those whose state in the 
world gives them, it seems, more right to indulge them- 



108 ON MORTIFICATION. 

selves ! Oh body of death, the source of so many disor- 
ders, will you always be the object of nry cares? No, 
with the permission of those who govern me, I will wage 
open war against you. Until now, I have feared the 
undertaking, because I have been ignorant of how much I 
could do, through the power of grace. 

With the help of grace, I will crucify the old man, by 
the austerities prescribed by my Rule, above all, when the 
flesh rises against the spirit, and causes me to feel that 
law of my members of which the Apostle speaks. I will 
make of my body, a living victim, agreeable in thine eyes, 

Lord ! I will exercise upon it that holy hatred which 
Thou dost so strongly recommend in the Gospel. The 
multitude of the sins I have committed, the health and 
strength I have, the attraction I feel, and above all the 
advice of my superiors will be the rules which I will fol- 
low, that I may not fail through indiscreet zeal or too great 
laxity. I will always bear in my exterior the modesty 
of which my holy founder gives the rules. I will avoid 
those affected manners and worldly airs which are 
especially forbidden. I will seek no unnecessary satis- 
factions, for my food, bed, and clothing, etc. I will 
desire nothing but what the community receives. I will 
be exact in rising at the precise hour. This exactitude 
shall extend to all my exercises. I will apply myself to 
the labor and occupations which are in accordance with 
my dut3 T , and not follow my natural inclinations. 1 will 
moderate that excessive tenderness, which makes me com- 
plain so easily and seek to be pitied. I will retrench 
absolutely all dangerous pleasures ; I will moderate and 
regulate even those which are innocent, because they 
cease to be so when taken without rule or moderation. I 
will sometimes abstain, through a spirit of penance, from 
the most permitted pleasures, or at least I will disengage 
my mind and heart from them. I will renounce or refer 
them to God. I will make a compact with my eyes and 
ears, that I may neither see nor hear what might sully mind 
or heart, for fear of losing purity or hearing detraction. 

1 will mortify the sense of smell in all that can flatter it. 
Everywhere, and in all things. I will overcome my senses and 
subject nature to the hardest combats. 



OK MOR TIFICA TION. 1 \) 

I will apply myself especially to interior mortifi- 
cation, to that of my heart, my mind, my humor, my 
passions, my inclinations, my desires, and my self-will. I 
will renounce myself continually, and make a perpetual 
sacrifice of myself. I will repress all the sallies of my 
pride ; I will study to have no will about anything. I will 
become as simple as a child, dependent on my Rule and my 
superiors. I should even be dependent on my equals, in 
all that is permitted, and which can humble me. 

I will teach self-love to be contented with little, and not 
to desire every thing it sees, and what others have. I will 
keep an exact silence. I will never say anything of those, 
of whom I cannot speak well. I will speak without 
warmth, without exaggeration, and without precipitation. 
I will never desire to appear witty at the expense of 
charity, or to flatter my vanity or pride. I will not seek 
certain confidential persons to open to them my heart, at 
the expense of my neighbor. I will retrench all vain 
curiosity. I will become indifferent to everything that 
does not concern my salvation. Far from occupying 
myself with the news of the world, I will withdraw from 
it as much as I can. I will turn away my mind from 
useless thoughts ; will restrain its levity and distractions 
b}' assiduous labor, prayer, and good reading. I will 
deprive myself of books that only serve to gratify my 
vanity or curiosity, or to flatter sensuality. I will not 
permit my imagination to dwell upon what may aggravate 
me. I will never let the sun set upon a resentment, how 
well founded soever it may be. I will be gentle and 
kind to those persons for whom I feel some aversion, or 
with whom 1 may not be pleased. Far from using cutting 
railleries against them, I will seek to meet and converse 
with them, and will always treat them with sweetness and 
respect. I will never reprehend any one whilst agitated, 
but wait until I become calm. I will not excuse myself, 
unless charity, edification, or obedience require it. I will 
moderate my natural activity, and a too eager manner of 
acting even in regard to the best things. When I feel too 
strong an inclination to do anything, if it is useless, I will 
renounce it; if it is good and useful, I will suspend my 
action until I have suppressed my vivacity. By my fidelity 



110 ON CROSSES AND SUFFERINGS. 

in observing all these good practices, so recommended by 
my holy founders, I will hope to become a religious, 
established on Mount Calvary for the service of Jesus 
crucified, who should always have this Model before her 
eyes, and never give herself the liberty of using her heart, 
eyes, or tongue, except through love for this crucified 
Spouse. 

Bless, O my God, these generous resolutions ; and 
strengthen them by Thy grace. To succeed in this holy 
warfare. 1 need Thy assistance, and confidently expect it 
from Thy grace and Thy love for me. Oh my Jesus, 
immolated on the cross for my salvation, teach me to love 
entire renunciation of self, which destroys sin and works 
out salvation. Animate me with a holy hatred against my 
flesh, senses, and passions, that I may become by mortifi- 
cation, the instrument of Thy justice against myself, that 
I may avoid Thy vengeance and merit Thy love. 



FIFTH DAY, 

SECOND MEDITATION. — ON CROSSES AND SUFFERINGS. 

First Point. 

m 

"In all things we suffer tribulation, but are not distressed: we 
are straitened, but are not destitute: we suffer persecution, but 
are not forsaken; we are cast down, but we perish not." — II Cor. 
iv., 9., 8. / 

God, in becoming man and immolating Himself for us, 
has attached to sufferings an infinite merit and satisfac- 
tion. The cross, which before His death, was an infamous 
punishment, has no longer that character for christians. 
Jesus Christ has attached to it a glory which surpasses 
all greatness. To suffer is no longer an evil, since a God 
has said: "Blessed are they who suffer," since He, 
Himself, has suffered. O treasure, contained in crosses, 
how precious you are to those who know your advantages ! 
What greater blessing can there be, than to have some 



ON CRCSSES AND SUFFERINGS. 1 j 1 

resemblance with Jesus Christ? But, especially what an 
honor, what an advantage for a religious to be truly 
conformed to her crucified Spouse. The only thing that 
can enable her to endure her exile is to be treated here 
liiie Jesus Christ. All her riches are contained in suffer- 
ings which draw her to Him, and which are, for her, the 
germ of the felicity to which she tends. It is only by 
suffering that she can worthily glorify her God. It is 
only by uniting her sufferings to those of her divine 
Saviour, that she can truly belong to Him. If, then, her 
mind, her heart, and her body are upon the cross, it is 
the surest proof of the love of her God, Who treats her 
as He treated His only Son. If, even the unction of the 
cross is taken from her, she does not lose courage. The 
apparent abandonment, which Jesus Christ experienced in 
the garden of Olives, and on Calvary, leads her to 
abandon herself so much the more to Him as He tries 
her more severely. She knows that love is hidden under 
the sword that strikes her ; that the hand which humbles 
her is to crown her, and that she will have more centuries 
to reign, than moments to suffer. These motives raise 
her above all misfortunes. There is no kind of affliction 
to which they do not present a remedy. If her body is 
reduced to habitual infirmities, she remembers the blessed 
immortality, in which her flesh will change its nature, 
and become like that of her Redeemer. If her heart 
languishes with pain at the sight of her own faults, and 
so many other offences which outrage the glory of God, 
she is strengthened in the thought, that the time ap- 
proaches, when a crown and a kingdom await her, and when 
her God shall be uuiversally glorified. If her mind is 
filled with perplexities and scruples, which make her 
doubt the mercy of God, believing that He is displeased ; 
if hell seems to open under her feet, she looks forward to 
that port which opens to her a safe asylum, where the 
day is without a cloud, joy without sorrow, and grace 
without the fear of losing it. Thus, after the example of 
the prophets, she derives a variety of consolations even 
from the diversity of her pains. She enjoys the suffer- 
ings that are to render her eternally happy in the land 
of the living. Animated by this thought, she becomes 



112 ON GROSSES AND SUFFERINGS. 

not simply patient in her crosses, but she even loves and 
desires them. u O amiable cross !" she exclaims with St. 
Andrew ; "O good and precious cross, which I have long 
desired ! I am tilled with consolation and joy, in the midst 
of my pains." She says, with St. Paul : " 1 rejoice in my 
tribulations," — with St. Teresa, "O Lord, let me suffer 
or die." " No, my God," she adds with St. Magdalen 
de Pazzi, "let me not die so soon, that I may suffer 
longer." "I wish no other joy," says she with her holy 
mother, ; ' than that which is to be found on Calvary with 
Jesus crucified." " What can disturb the peace of my 
heart?" continues she with her hoi} 7 founder. " If every- 
thing in nature, within and without me, should be turned 
upside down, it should not trouble me." 

In the first moment of affliction, some complaint may 
escape her, but this involuntary surprise cannot render 
her guilty. Flesh and blood often speak before the 
spirit, reason, and grace, even in the most just souls. 
But after having granted to nature the first moments, 
she remembers Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfecter 
of her faith. She throws herself at the foot of the cross, 
which love for her made Him ascend, and there the Spouse 
of her soul seems to say to her ; " What have I not done 
to shelter you from eternal evils? It is only the present 
evils I would not avert from you. In what can you better 
resemble me than in suffering? Compare your sufferings 
with Mine, and you will find them light. Take yours 
through gratitude for Mine, and you will find them ami- 
able. Endure them for Me, with Me, and like Me, and 
they will become sweet to yon\" 

"Yes," says St. Francis of Sales, " if jealousy could 
enter into heaven, the angels would be jealous,not on ly 
of the sufferings of God for man, but also of those endur- 
ed by man for God." He says, elsewhere, that sufferings 
are like a fund, which is to produce another. God gives 
us the interest in this life, which consists in unction, 
grace, and spiritual joy. The other fund is glory, 
eternal glory. What do we bring on our side to this con- 
tract? Scarcely anything ; some momentary pains suffer- 
ed with patience, and God on His side gives His grace, 
His love, His protection, and His Kingdom. Our resig- 



ON CROSSES AND SUFFERINGS. 113 

nation calls Him to our aid. He comes; His presence is 
felt, He is with us in tribulation, He carries the greater 
portion of our burden, He aids us to bear the remainder ; 
He cousoles us, He dries our tears, sanctifies and crowns 
them. Could we count our sufferings for much, could we 
even count them for anything, if those of Jesus Christ 
were deeply engraven on our hearts, if they were strong- 
ly impressed on our memories? Everything would become 
light to us, or at least supportable. Whatever nature 
might say, we would answer it, that we suffer nothing in 
comparison with our Saviour, and if it costs us something, 
it is not as with Him to the shedding of blood. We would 
say to ourselves, that if we cannot live upon the cross, 
we can die on it, and that it is better to die on it, than to 
live and die without penance. 

This should be the language, especially of a Religious 
of the Visitation, whose state, according to her holy 
founders, is a state of penance. " This daughter of Cal- 
vary," said St. Francis of Sales, " in embracing her pro- 
fession, should have wished to embrace everything that 
is inseparably attached to it." In pronouncing her vows, 
she promised to follow Jesus Christ, and to walk in the 
same way He did, which is a way of suffering. The more, 
therefore, our Lord multiplies her crosses, the more He 
wishes to perfect in her the image of her Spouse, and the 
more she should conform herself to her Model. Those 
trials, especially, which are not sweetened by consolations, 
should have particular charms for her, if her faith be strong 
in the Man of sorrows. Thus she suddenly passes from 
lights, consolations, the sweetness of a tender piety, into 
darkness, desolation, and aridities. Her imagination is 
troubled by a thousand phantoms. Her will opposed to 
everything that is good ; her soul afflicted and over- 
whelmed by mortal fears, and the weight of God's anger, 
Whom she can only view as a judge, no longer as a merci- 
ful father. This pure cross, these privations she should 
consider as a pledge of the special love of her God, and as 
a means of proving her love for Him, by suffering all in 
silence. All her consolation should be to have no consola- 
tion on earth. She should remember that this life is not 
a time to enjoy but to suffer. Jesus Christ, was not only 
8 



114 -ON MORTIFICATION. 

crucified in the exterior, but still more in the interior. 
For her sake, He deprived Himself of the enjoyment of 
divine consolations, and it should be her glory and her joy 
to resemble Him, and to carry with and for Him some small 
portion of the cross. These truths, meditated and reflect- 
ed on, should restore calm to her heart, banish trouble 
from her mind, and perplexity from her soul. She should 
no longer be anxious about things which require fidelity ; 
nor should she become painfully excited when she has 
been unfaithful. Experience should have taught her, 
that disquietude on this point often causes many other, 
and more important duties to be neglected. Her holy 
founders tell her, that fidelity can be required only in 
things that present themselves in a distinct and peaceful 
manner, and in which, it is evident, we can subject 
ourselves, without losing our peace, and without neglecting 
any prescribed duty. Therefore, she no longer imagines 
that all is lost, because she has been unjfiithful ; nor does 
she confound infidelity with mortal sin. She knows that 
these troubles and doubts are pure temptations, illusions. 
" I have failed," she says, according to the advice of St. 
Francis of Sales, '* but I will rise again, and do better." 
She says this to herself a thousand times, and peaceably 
resumes her exercises, to fulfil them with more fervor 
and fidelity. 

Second Point. 

At the sight of Thy Cross, O my Jesus, can I 
complain of my sufferings? Thou, the only Son of God, 
that God of glory, to Whom is due by nature all respect 
and veneration in a sovereign degree; Thou, Who, if 
Thou wert not God, should as man expect gratitude from 
those, whom Thou hast favored by so many benefits ; 
Thou, Man-God, in whose power it was not to suffer ; 
what hast Thou not suffered, to encourage me to walk in 
Thy footsteps ! Who am I, that I should refuse to suffer? 
I, a worm of the earth, a vessel of clay in the bands of 
the Potter, Who has made it, and Who can break it to 
pieces at His pleasure. I am more dependent on Thee, O 
Lord, than a vile insect is upon man, who gives himself 
the arbitrary dominion of life and death over it. Who 



ON MORTIFICATION. 115 

am I? A sirmer, voluntarily criminal, by the multitude 
of my faults ; a victim, a hundred times escaped from hell, 
and deserving from my first crime the fate experienced by 
the reprobate angels. Who am I? A criminal insuppor- 
table, perhaps, even to my neighbor, who has the right 
to demand of Thee, as being the common Master of all> 
justice against me. But, supposing that I am innocent, 
who am I compared with Thee, O Jesus crucified. Should 
I desire or expect better treatment than Thyself? Should 
I not esteem myself happy to have some resemblance to 
Thee? Even supposing that I am just, would I wish to 
have nothing to lay at the foot of Thy Cross? I find 
there Thy adorable Blood, shed for the salvation of my 
soul. Should I not at least mingle my tears with this 
precious Blood? Unite my feeble sufferings with Thy 
immense pains? I will suffer theu, O my God, and 
suffer without complaining. I will suffer with patience 
and resignation ; yes, with joy. If Thy arm should weigh 
heavily upon me ; if all creatures should unite against 
me ; if all evils should burst upon my head ; if the fire of 
fever should consume me ; if I should feel the most acute 
pains in every part of my body, if the most humiliating 
diseases should assail me, if fears, anxieties, and doubts 
should torment my mind, I will say to myself ; Jesus has 
suffered all this ; God treats me as He treated His only 
Son. Without examining His reasons, ought I not submit 
to His will ? Is He not the Master ? Is not His will the rule 
of all justice? But what can I suffer that I have not 
deserved? And how often has he shown me mercy? 
My sins merited hell, and through an effect of Thy great 
mercy, Thou hast been pleased to change the eternal 
punishments which were in reserve for me, into some 
temporal pains which will soon finish. What a grace ! 
What a favor ! Thou hast suffered, O divine Jesus, 
and Thou hast suffered for me ; I may have suffered, but 
was it for Thee? Was it not for myself? By my 
sufferings 1 perfect in myself, what is wanting to my 
redemption. I suffer, and by a day of pain, I redeem, 
perhaps, years of suffering in the next life. I suffer, and 
in suffering may perfect myself in the most sublime 
virtues, patience, resignation, humility, contempt of the 



116 ON MORTIFICATION. 

world, hatred of self, charity for my neighbor, and love 
of God. I suffer, to unite myself more closely to Thee. 
We resemble Thee only in as much as we suffer ; all my 
glory, henceforth, shall be to resemble Thee. 

Lord ! Instructed by Thy example, and supported 
by Thy grace, I will renounce my natural will, which 
has a horror of trials, and I will submit my reason and 
will to Thine. H< nceforth, far from revolting or mur- 
muring, thus adding to Thy sufferings, I will kiss Thy 
hand when it humbles me, and thus I will console Thee 
in Thy sorrows. I will accept all evils which bear the 
seal of thy will, all except that of sin, which Thou canst 
not will. A thousand times, too, happy will I be to 
drink some drops of the chalice which Thou didst drain 
to the dregs for love of me. O my God, when I see Thee 
laden with a heavy cross for my salvation, I can no longer 
live without the cross. Strike, Lord, as Thou judgest 
best ; use whatever instruments, whatever means please 
Thee ; I submit with respect to all. If Thou art pleased 
with my services, as recompense I ask Thee for the cross ; 
if Thou art displeased with me, avenge Thyself and send 
me the cross. I will pity myself only because Thou dost 
spare me too much, and dost not bury the sword deep 
enough in me. If Thou dost not judge me worthy of 
suffering the martyrdom of blood, grant me that of the 
cross, upon which I wish to live and die, fastened by 
the nails of Thy love. Oh, tender Father ! Who hast 
engendered me in sorrow, as another Abraham, immolate 
me by Thy own hand ; or rather make me, as another 
Isaac, worthy of Thee, by the trial of my fidelity. 
Separate, Lord, the straw from the wheat, that is to say, 
try me ; purify me by suffering, that I may be worthy of 
Thee and of my state. Consider tenderly, the interests of 
my soul. Let it resemble Thee by the glorious marks 
which will merit for me, the crown that Thy just and 
liberal hand destines for those who suffer as Thou didst 
with Thee and for Thee. Chastise, retrench, burn now, 
provided that Thou dost spare me for eternity. I am 
ready to receive Thy chastisements with all the submission 
I owe Thee as my God, with all the tenderness due Thee 
as my Spouse. Strengthen my heart; sever it forever 



ON MORTIFICATION. . 117 

from the false pleasures and consolations of this life ; 
increase my courage in proportion to my tribulations. 
Let this heart suffer but through zeal to avenge Thee 
for what it owes Thy justice ; let it suffer but through 
gratitude and esteem for sufferings, which Thou hast 
honored, consecrated, divinized in Thy person ; let it 
suffer, but with pleasure because Thou dost find Thy glory 
in its humiliation ; let it suffer but through love, because 
the time of trial is best fitted to love Thee ; let it suffer 
but with joy, because tears are the portion of Thy elect ; 
in a word, let it glory but in Thy cross. Grant, Lord, 
that I may be sustained under the weight of this burden, 
neither by the hope of future rewards, nor by the unction 
of interior consolation, but only by the strength of faith, 
and the desire of being more conformed to Thee. 

To strengthen myself in this state of interior privation 
which is called, and which I have myself looked upon, as 
one of pain, abandonment and loss of salvation ; and 
which is, in truth, but a loss of the lights, consolations, 
supports, and securities which nature and self-love seek, 
and lose only with extreme regret, behold, Omy God, the 
holy resolutions which I take, and which are drawn from 
the great and sublime maxims of my holy founders. 

I will no longer desire that my interior pains should 
diminish quickly. If Thou dost wish that my soul should 
be sad unto death, T will bless Thy adorable will, and not- 
withstanding the repugnance of nature, I will submit 
entirely. I will no longer seek either spiritual or sensible 
consolations ; if Thou dost give them to me at intervals, 
I will not attach myself to them ; I will make no effort 
to augment or prolong them. I will entertain, in the 
bottom of my heart, the firm resolution never to offend Thee, 
and will allow Thee to dispose of me as it will please 
Thee for time and eternity. If, in the virtues of Faith, 
Hope, and Charity, I feel neither light, support, or sensi- 
bility, I will, according to Thy intention, apply myself 
to become, by this privation and trial, more pure and 
spiritual. I will avoid, with care, the faults into which 
this painful state may cause me to fall ; such as yielding 
to my humors; speaking harshly ; being less docile to 
obedience ; attracting to myself false compassion, or 



118 ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 

reflecting on the greatness of my pains. I will do more, 
I will esteem and cherish this humiliating state, and I will 
thank Thee, Lord, that Thou dost thus destroy my pride and 
reduce me, to where I should keep myself in my nothingness. 
I will remain in this arid, deep nothingness, without ever 
leaving it in life or death. I will regard this despoiliation 
as a participation of that which Thou didst feel, when, 
on the cross, Thou didst appear to be abandoned by Thy 
Father. Like Thee, I will abandon myself to Him Who 
seems to abandon me, and if He wishes to leave me in 
this abandonment until death, as He left Thee, I will 
continue until death, to abandon myself to Him. Lord, 
preserve and augment more and more the sentiments 
with which Thou hast inspired me. 



FIFTH DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION. ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 

First Point. 

"For your Father knoweth what is needful for you before you 
ask Him. — Matt, vi., 8. 

St. Francis de Sales, interpreting these words of our 
Lord, said to his dear daughters: "O you, who are 
especially chosen, to be the adorers and servants for 
divine Providence, accept all happenings with indifference, 
and in perfect union of your will to that of God. Serve 
your Master cheerfully in all things, without considering 
whether the effect will be useful, profitable, or hurtful. 
It is enough for you to be assured that our divine 
Saviour loves very tenderly those, who suffer themselves 
to be governed by His Providence, and who are guided 
by it everywhere and in all things. He takes care of 
everything and conducts everything ; therefore, your soul 
has nothing else to do, but to repose in His arms. There, 
all disquietudes and all eagerness cease. Never troubling 
herself about anything, she receives all events, and all the 



ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 119 

variety of accidents, which may happen, with tranquility. 
Whoever is in the hands of God, whoever reposes in His 
bosom, and abandons herself to the care of His adorable 
wisdom, and to His paternal goodness has nothing to 
fear.." " O holy abandonment ! Virtue of virtues, alone 
worthy to be practised by the dearest children of God." 

These maxims, the exercise of which, the holy bishop 
had rendered so common to himself, had so filled the 
heart of St. Chantal,*that she was always submissive 
to the orders and designs of God. The unexpected 
events, the multiplied tribulations, and violent trials 
which she experienced in her life, always found her, as it 
were, insensible to self. "What matters it whether we 
suffer or are happy," said she, "provided, the divine will 
be accomplished ; must we not be as equally in repose in 
times of tribulation as in the hours of consolation ? It is 
true virtue to accustom ourselves to do without many 
things, and to want very few." "A worthy daughter of 
our holy Father," she adds, "is a soul entirely 
abandoned to divine Providence, a soul unshaken at all 
times, who wishes only God, sees only God, attaches 
herself only to God ; who, in fine, belongs entirely to 
God." A Religious of the Visitation, therefore, is called 
to a holy indifference about everything that is in the 
hands of our Lord ; to the sublime virtue of self-abnega- 
tion, and of entire abandonment of herself to the designs 
of God, Who governs her. "She should," her holy 
founders tell her, " be certain, that the perfect and blind 
submission, which He requires of her cannot be impru- 
dent. She should refrain from any reflections or reason- 
ings upon what happens to her. Should our Lord place 
her upon a painful cross, she should remain there in 
silence, bke Him, and await the orders of Him Who placed 
her there, to leave it. She should not depend upon 
herself, either by fear or hope, or by an anxious foresight 
of the future, or by an excessive joy in consolation, or by 
a too lively sensibility in desolation, or, in a word, by 
any act of her will, which then would cease to be the 
will of God. Health or sickness, life or death, good 
or bad success, contempt or honor, peace or temptations, 
taste or repugnance, consolation or desolation ; all these 



120 ABANDONMENT TO PttOVlDENCX. 

things should be equal to her. " Everything should 
appear good to her, when God wills it. Her conformity 
should be such, that she should will all that God wills ; 
this is the object ; all as God wills ; this is the rule ; all 
as God wills it; this is the motive." Her occupation, like 
that of the saints in heaven, should be to do all that He 
requires, without exception, without restriction, without 
reserve. She should correspond to the views of our Lord 
over her, without listening to her repugnances. In giving 
to God the substance of her actions, she must not reserve 
to herself the circumstances. This would be robbing God 
of a part of the sacrifice, and rendering herself guilty of 
theft in the holocaust, giving the tree, and keeping the 
fruit. Her motive in accomplishing the will of God 
should be that will itself. This motive should suffice, 
and take the place of every other reason. Thus, will she 
make a happy exchange of her will for that of God ; that 
is to say of a human and always defective will, for one 
that is divine and perfect. An exchange which will be 
for her the inexhaustible source of all good. 

God has His reasons for all that He wills and ordains, 
although we cannot always see and penetrate them. It 
is, therefore, useless, and even injurious to His greatness, 
to examine them too much, and to wish to dive into them. 
Let us listen, adore and obey. This is our duty, more- 
over, it is our advantage ; we know not what is best for 
us. Our Father in heaven knows all, can do all, and He 
loves us. He sees what is good for us, where we see 
only evil. But, suppose there should be evil, can He not 
rectify it, and turn it to our ^ood ? Did He not refresh 
the three hebrew youths in the furnace? Our submis- 
sion is so honorable to God, that He has a special care 
of those who abandon themselves to Him. When He 
sees us disposed to receive everything, from His hands, 
with thanksgiving, He is more particularly inclined to do 
us good. In the world, does not a generous man believe 
himself obliged to aid and serve those, who confidently 
give themselves up to his guidance? 

How many motives has not a religious to conform 
herself interiorly and exteriorly to the will of God, to keep 
hevself always in the situation in which He wills her to 



ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. I2l 

be ; to regulate, according to his good pleasure, all the 
thoughts of her mind, all the desires of her heart, all the 
words of her mouth, all the actions of her hands, all the 
powers of her soul, and all the movements of her body? 
She should continually say to herself, what|is it that God 
wishes me to think, to desire? How does He wish me to 
act on this occasion ? No matter what it costs, I will, in 
all things, follow His good pleasure. My will should be 
entirely annihilated before His, that His may be perfectly 
accomplished in me. All the affections of my heart shall 
have Thee r O Lord, for object. It shall be my joy to 
accomplish Thy holy will, my sadness to have failed in 
fidelity to Thee ; my fear, not to follow Thy views ; my 
hope, to fulfil Thy designs ; and thus with all the other 
movements of my heart. Thy glory, shall be my glory ; Thy 
pleasure my pleasure ; Thy felicity, my felicity. I shall 
want no other consolation than that of being able to say or 
think ; I am where God wills me to be, and if He wills it, 
here will I die. From the arms of His providence, shall I 
not pass into the aims of His mercy. But in this consoling 
state, I must not seek too much my own satisfaction. I 
must desire this state, only inasmuch as, Thou, Lord, 
wiliest it. I must be entirely transformed into Thy will. 
Mine, must be no more, I must no longer be anything 
but the will of God in me. "This is the conduct of a 
true servant of God," says St. Francis of Sales, " To-day, 
she does faithfully what our Lord requires of her ; to- 
morrow she shall again do what He requires of her ; and 
alwaj-s this, without caring about anything else." She is 
blindly submissive, like St. Paul at the moment of his con- 
version, and says, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to 
do?" The divine will is the stnr upon which her eyes are 
fixed during the voyage of life. She places all her 
affections in the hands of God, that they may be moulded 
and fashioned to His liking and good pleasure. She re- 
ceives, with indifference and submission, the temptations 
and contradictions which happen in the spiritual life. Of 
what importance is it to her, to be on Thabor or Calvary, 
in this state or that, when she seeks only the will of her 
Spouse? She even renounces her pretended right of 
judging what is best for her, leaving this care entirely to 



122 ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 

Him, to whom it belongs, to judge and will for her what- 
ever He pleases. 

According to these maxims, it does not suffice for a re- 
ligious of the Visitation to have an obedience of action in 
accomplishing the orders of God, and the duties of her 
rule. She should have, also, an obedience of immolation, 
by sacrificing her own views, her inclinations, and her 
judgment ; b} T immolating her reason itself, as it is no 
longer reason, when opposed to legitimate obedience. The 
sacrifice of her will, according to St. Paul, should be re- 
newed, as often as the sun renews its light on the earth. 
" I immolate myself daily," says the great Apostle, 
i ' under the sword of obedience." In this he did what 
the Son of God had done before him, and will continue 
to do to the end of the world, in the holy sacrifice of the 
Mass. Can a religious without submission assist worthily 
at this dread sacrifice, wherein Jesus Christ becomes 
obedient unto death for her salvation? 

God rejected the fasts and sacrifices of His people, 
because they did their own will ; what, then, will it be with 
regard to a religious, who establishes herself as the end 
of her actions, and refers everything to herself? Will not 
God, one day, demand a terrible vengeance for this selfish 
act which He regards as a theft? Even in this life, 
He punishes the want of docility and abandonment by 
interior troubles which desolate the soul, by pains of 
conscience, by doubts, by fears of her salvation. St. 
Francis of Sales says, " that these are the chastisements of 
a soul who refuses to abandon herself to Providence." As 
if God said to her ; " You think you are wise enough to 
do these things without Me ; I will let you alone, and 
you will see what will become of you." Thus, does God 
avenge His divine will, outraged by the want of confidence 
and resignation in His spouses. Do they become more 
conformed to His good pleasure ? Alas ! continues the 
holy bishop " all say to our Lord : I give myself to Thee 
without reserve ; but how few embrace the practice of 
this perfect renunciation and absolute abandonment?" 



ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 123 



Second Point. 

Am I, O my God ! one of those souls of whom our 
holy Founder speaks, "who gently rest in the arms of 
Thy Providence, and who, without inclining to either side, 
without wishing for any thing, find every thing good that 
comes from Thee?" Do I not think with regard to the 
greater part of things, as worldlings think of them ? Do 
I not form desires, projects, of which the object is differ- 
ent, it is true, but whose impression is the same upon my 
heart? Does not the prosperity of nvy relations elate me? 
Does not their adversity afflict me? Am I not disquieted 
about the future ? Do I not seek human supports ? Do I 
not occupy myself about my health ? Do I not spare it 
with ridiculous affectation? The sight or even thought of 
the least pain alarms me. Do I not fear death ? How 
far I am, O my God ! from remitting myself entirely into 
Thy Hands ! Am I contented with the graces Thou 
givest me ? Do I not murmur when natural consolations 
are refused me? Do I adore Thy designs when Thou 
delayest to hear my prayers? Do I not incessantly ask 
Thee for a tender and purely sensible devotion? Do I 
not wish to perceive, each day, my progress in virtue? Do 
I not solicit unceasingly the gift of a more sublime spirit of 
prayer, Thy holy communications and favors ? Do I not 
wish to dispose of Thy mercy, and of myself, at my 
pleasure? In fine, do I not consult nry own inclinations, 
will, and desires? What a folly? In the order of natnre is 
it not the first cause that gives movement to the second? 
Why then should I, O my God, reverse this order, that my 
unjust and irregular will should rule Thine, which is justice 
and sanctity itself? Should I not, on the contrary, will all 
that Thou wiliest, and will nothing that Thou does not 
will? How much is comprised in these few words? To 
will nothing that Thou dost not will is to banish sin 
entirely from my heart ; and to will all that Thou wiliest 
is to establish in it, all the virtues in their highest perfec- 
tion. 

Take, then, care of all, O my Jesus ! and guide all. 
May I be able to say with our holy Father, " I remit to 
Thee all my interests, for time and eternity." Thy 



124 ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 

paternal heart is most careful of mine ; Thou desirest to 
conduct me, and what is more advantageous for me? May 
Thy will be done and not mine. What would it avail me to 
foresee what I could not prevent? To count upon what I 
cannot keep? Thou, Lord, art sovereignly powerful, 
and all beings should submit to Thee. Thou alone art sov- 
ereignly wise, and there is nothing done in the world which 
is not known to Thy infinite wisdom. Thou alone art 
sovereignly powerful, and all that happens to us is a 
proof of Thy ineffable goodness. 

To refuse to submit to Thee, would be to wish to take 
from Thee, Thy power, to condemn Thy wisdom and 
accuse Thy goodness, to will that Thou shouldst not be 
my God, and to aspire to be Thine. Ah ! far from me 
such impious sentiments. I will submit forever to 
Thy dispositions, because it is just that Thou shouldst 
govern, as it pleases Thee, a heart of which Thou art the 
only and sovereign Lord. I revere Thy guidance, because 
nothing wiser can be imagined. I will receive with love 
and gratitude all that happens to me, because I can desire 
nothing more advantageous. Alas ! Lord, I do not know 
my true interests. Blind as I am, like the sons of Zebedee, 
I most frequently know not what I ask. Thou knowest 
better than I what is good for me, and Thou lovest me 
infinitely more than I love myself ; do, then, with me as 
Thou wiliest. I will look upon myself, in Thy hands, as 
an earthern vessel in the hands of the potter. Break, 
shatter, do with me all that will please Thee. All that 
comes from Thy Hand willybe infinitely venerable to me. 
My conformity will be entire, my abandonment total 
and without reserve. I give up to Thee all that I am, 
have or hope to be, my mind and all my thoughts, my 
heart and all my affections, my life and all its moments, 
my hope and all its desires. I will all that Thou wiliest ; 
I will only what Thou wiliest, as Thou wiliest, as long, 
and in the manner that Thou wiliest. I will be submis- 
sive to all that Thou wiliest and permittest. If Thou givest 
me consolation, may Thy holy Name be blessed, it is a 
favor I do not merit. If Thou sendest me trials, may Thy 
holy Name be blessed, they are punishments I have but 
too justly merited. I know not the particular and per- 



ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 125 

sonal way b\- which Thou wishest to lead me to heaven ; 
Thou alone knowest the course of events, the chain of 
graces and helps necessary for my salvation. The 
care of my soul belongs to Thee, fidelity to me. Can that 
be far from Thy Heart, which is abyssecl in Thy bosom ? 
I cast myself, then, into the bosom of Thy paternal mercy. 
I confide myself forever to Thy ineffable goodness, — I 
am no longer my own. As Sovereign dispose of me, in 
prosperity or adversity, sickness or health, life or death, 
in time and eternity. I will endure and suffer all that it will 
please Thee to send me. I will be abandoned, despised if 
Thou wiliest ; I wish, even success and progress in perfec- 
tion, only inasmuch as Thou wiliest it. I sacrifice to Thy 
good pleasure and glory all my reasonings. Thou callest me 
and I will answer thee. All will be indifferent tome provided 
I give Thee the glory I have too often refused. I wish no 
other consolation in my submission than my submission 
itself. Let human motives, frivolous rewards be no 
longer proposed to me, I wish no other, O my God, 
than to glorify Thee by an abandonment, generous, abso- 
lute, prompt, and constant. 

O, divine wisdom ! divine will ! I acknowledge that I 
have dishonored Thee, by that secret applause of my mind 
or industry which I have heretofore regarded as the 
cause of my success ; by the too great confidence I have 
had in self, my lights and creatures ; I will abandon m}- 
self to Thee, more particularly where I remark my pre- 
sumption. 

In times of suffering, in Thy most rigorous guidance I 
will not lose courage. Thou hast so often supported and 
waited for me ; in my turn, I will await Thee as long as 
the trial lasts. In my troubles I will not seek calmness 
by any other way than that of resignation and patience. 
On all occasions, whether those which happen in effect, 
or those which come to my mind, I will abandon myself 
to Thy orders, whether Thou dost wish to show forth 
Thy justice or manifest Thy mercy, to humble my pride, 
punish my iniquity, or try my virtue, that I may merit 
new graces. I accept all with the same motive which Thou 
wilt have in sending them. I will adore Thy judgments, 
when Thou dost punish relatives and friends guilty of 



126 ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 

abusing Thy benefits. I will espouse Thy interests by 
submitting to Thy dispositions, and by uniting myself to 
Thy Saints, who rejoice at the glory Thou dost find, in 
sinners bearing the just chastisement of their sins. 

I will neither pity myself, nor be troubled at my want 
of talent, mind, memory, judgments, knowledge, or ability. 
Thou hast not wished to give me more ; O my God such 
is Tlry will, a thousand times dearer to me than the rarest 
talents. If I have no perfections, I will rejoice that Thou 
dost possess them all, and united to Thee I will possess 
them in Thee. 

I will not envy the robust health of others if mine is 
weak, I cannot do so without desiring to withdraw from 
the order of Thy will, and Thy interests should be dearer 
to me than my own. I will not even wish the high 
degrees of grace, perfection, and sanctity, to which Thou 
hast raised the saints, and to which 1 am not destined. 
If Thou hast resolved to draw from me only a small 
measure of glory, I will adore Thy divine dispositions. 
To wish what Thou dost not will of me, under pretext of 
sanctity and perfection, can only be the effect of a secret 
vanity and an irregular love of my own excellence. . . . 
However, I will not make less effort to rise to the highest 
sanctity, because Thou dost order me to aspire thereto ; 
but I will remain peaceful and contented, although Thou 
dost not forearm me with the graces with which Thou didst 
forearm Thy saints, and by the help of which they reached 
the highest degree of perfection. 

I will never engage in anj action or undertaking, with- 
out believing, in good faith, that it is Thou who reqairest it 
of me. I will not even pray for my own needs, or public 
necessities, but because it is Thy will that I pray Thee to 
provide for them. 

To correspond perfectly, and in all to this divine will, I 
will try to understand the designs Thou hast over me. I 
will be attentive to the distribution Thou makest of Thy 
gifts and graces ; to the different states in which Thou 
dost place me ; the various events which happen to me. 
Henceforth, I will conceive and understand, by the few 
qualities of body and mind, which it has pleased Thee to 
give me ; by the great number of sins Thou hast permit- 



ON OBEDIENCE. 127 

ted me to commit in Thy sight ; by the faults and impru- 
dences into which Thou hast suffered me to fall before 
others ; and by the little success I have in all I under- 
take ; I will understand by all these things, that Thou dost 
demand of me, a profound humility and a perfect annihila- 
tion of self, since Thou dost give me so manj T pressing- 
motives to humble and annihilate myself. I will understand, 
henceforth, by the fiery temperament and strong health 
which Thou hast given me, that Thou demandest of me great 
fervor, and I will emplo\ T all my vivacity and health 
in loving and serving Thee. By the little consolation and 
fidelity I find in creatures, Thou showest me that Thou 
desirest to be my only support and consolation. I wish, O 
my God, with the assistance of Thy mercy, to know and 
fulfil Thy designs, and to serve Thee henceforth, with total 
and absolute abandonment ; an abandonment, continual, 
eternal, and irrevocable. O my God may this perfect 
abandonment commence from this moment, and continue 
during my whole life ; ma}' it be renewed at the moment 
of death, may it be my last thought, my last sentiment, 
my last sigh ; may it remit my soul into Thy hands, to 
bless, praise, and love Thee forever. 



FIFTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE. ON OBEDIENCE. 

"He that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. 
And they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation."— Romans, 
xiii., 2. 

If every disobedience to lawful power incurs the 
chastisement of God, what has not a religious to fear, 
who, having made the vow of obedience, does not obey? 
The Scripture treats, as an Idolater, every man who, instead 
of viewing God as the lawful power, makes a God of his 
own will and judgment. What name must we give to a 
religious, who, after having by the vow of obedience, placed 
herself as a victim upon the altar of the living God, with- 



128 ON OBEDIENCE. 

draws from it by her revolts, and places herself upon the 
altar of the demon ? Who renounces the august quality of 
child and servant of God, which she received at her 
profession, to become the child and servant of Belial? 
All the masters of the spiritual life agree in saying, that 
those who violate obedience, w r hich is the most essential of 
all the vows, are apostates from their state, because they 
really quit it before God, when they leave the ways of 
docility. They are, they say, monsters of hell, since, like 
the devils, they refuse to submit to the orders of God, 
Who commands them through their superiors. It even 
seems, they add, that there is iu their disobedience, a 
certain malice character, which is not met with in the devils. 
They, never having made a vow of obedience, did not 
commit a sacrilegious breach of their promise, iu disobey- 
ing God. "The indocile religious," says St. Francis of 
Sales, " finds, like the first man, her loss in her rebellion, 
whereas, she would have found her crown in submission. 
When, like Adam, she throws off the yoke of obedience, 
like him, she loses the dominion she had over creatures ; 
that is, she will feel the revolt of her powers. She will not 
obey her Master, and her slaves shall give her the law." 
" What is more just," he adds, after St. Bernard, " than 
that she should feel an internal struggle against her rights 
and authority, since she has made war against the Author 
of her life?" " If we are not obedient, and submissive," 
says St. Chantal, commenting on these principles of the 
holy bishop, "we are but phantoms of religious. Whoever 
vows obedience, and afterwards seeks to rule her employ- 
ments, her abode or direction, withdraws from her vow. 
After having died for God, she again lives through the 
demon of self-love, and no longer lives but for him." 

These truths will clearly appear, if we examine the 
sanctity of the principles that establish religious obedience. 
It is founded upon the authority of God Himself, which 
resides in superiors. This authority has not, indeed, been 
communicated to them, by Jesus Christ in person, but by 
Jesus Christ represented in His Vicar, and in all the 
powers of the Church lawfully ordained. This is of 
faith. Jesus Christ declares it Himself, saying : * 4 He 
that hears you, hears Me ; he that despises you, despises 



ON OBEDIENCE. 129 

Me." A religious should, therefore, be persuaded, that 
she does the will of God, when obedience is suggested to her 
by her superiors. She should believe that it is God who 
speaks to her, and commands, when her superiors speak 
and command things that are not contrary to the law of 
God. A religious, who acts thus, according to faith and 
supernatural views, cannot fail to become perfect. 
Mother de Chantal says, that nothing can shake such a 
one in the time of temptation. "But," adds she, "she 
must neither consider the person who commands, nor the 
thing commanded, whether they be to her liking or not ; 
for whilst she looks upon the creature, as cmly a creature, 
she will never do anything good." The obligation she is 
under of obeying, exists, independently of the imper- 
fections and weaknesses of superiors ; independently of 
the contradictions of her mind, and the repugnance of 
her heart. Notwithstanding all the defects she may 
discover in those who govern her, she owes them respect ; 
or rather, it is God she should respect in their persons. 

She should believe that what they say to her, is the 
word of God, that what the}' order is His will. It is 
never lawful to censure their conduct, to murmur at it, or 
to listen to the murmurs of others. She should remember 
and persuade others, that God permits weaknesses in 
superiors, only to increase the merits, and to try the obedi- 
ence of inferiors. The devil, or our own malice often 
leads us to remark defects in superiors, as the Jews did 
in the person of Jesus Christ, to disgust us with them, 
and prevent us from profiting by their lessons. 

Embarrassed, as they are, by so many cares, and exposed 
to so many occasions, it would be morally impossible 
for them, even if they were saints, not to commit some 
faults. And is it not very unjust to have no regard 
for the weakness of human nature, in paths so slippery? 
They, who are the most ardent in condemning superiors, 
would commit much more grievous faults if they occupied 
their places if they had the same temperaments, were equally 
agitated within by their passions, and moved by the im- 
pression of exterior objects, the contradictions, chagrins, 
and displeasures inseparable from their functions. We 
have no need of eyes to obey ; ears alone are necessary. 
9 



130 ON OBEDIENCE. 

We should not consider what superiors do, but what they 
say. It matters not, for us, whether they do or do not 
what they command ; whether they be perfect or imperfect. 
They are not to be obeyed because they have virtue and 
merit, but because they carry the orders of God, and are, 
in the hands of divine Providence, instruments to execute 
His designs. 

But, if notwithstanding, the practice of obedience 
seems hard to the religious soul, let her fix her eyes upon 
her divine Spouse, Who came from heaven not to do His 
own will, but that of His Father who sent Him. He made 
it His food and occupation during His whole life, how 
rigorous soever it might be. All His steps, all His virtues, 
all His sufferings, His birth, life, mission, death, cross, 
everything in Him was regulated by this holy will. Let 
her contemplate the extent of His obedience. He obeys 
without distinction all those who hold for Him the place 
of God, whether they be faithful like Mary and Joseph, 
or unfaithful like Pilate and Herod. He obeys those in 
office, without complaining either of their conduct, or of 
the Providence which placed them there. He leaves to God 
the care of rectifying their defects, and of even referring 
their passions to His designs. Let us consider His 
motives ; He obeys only His Father, in executing the will 
of man ; "You would have no power, over Me," said He 
to Pilate, "were it not given you from above." In fine, 
let her lift her eyes to Calvary ! There she will see her 
divine Spouse, bleeding, crowned with thorns, and all 
covered with wounds. Behold, what obedience cost Him ; 
behold the divine Model she ihould imitate. Should not 
the example of Jesus Christ confound and destroy all the 
vain pretexts of her pride, and annihilate in all her self- 
will? 

If this grand model, so elevated and perfect does not 
yet touch her as it ought, let her, meditate upon the life 
of her holy founders. What virtue was more seen in St. 
Francis de Sales, than obedience? His ambition was to 
obey, not to command. He saw no danger in living in 
submission, and it appeared to him, unworthy that a man 
should command, after God had obeyed. The title of 
foundress and first superioress of the Order did not hinder 



ON OBEDIENCE. 131 

St. Chantal from giving the most perfect example of obedi- 
ence. More jealous of obeying than of commanding, how 
often did she not seek to be deposed. AYhen the} 7 complied 
with her earnest entreaties, she was so submissive and 
dependent, so respectful to every superior, that it seemed as 
if she never had been anything but a simple religious. In 
them, whoever they were, she only considered their place, not 
their persons. She said, with St. Francis de Sales, that 
we should attach ourselves to the spirit, not to the body. 
44 It seems to me," said she, " that I should have more 
satisfaction in obeying the least of our sisters, who should 
do nothing but contradict me, and command me in a harsh, 
and severe manner, than the most capable and experienced 
in the whole order." Do not these sentiments impose 
upon us the obligation of a blind submission to superiors, 
however destitute they may be of qualities to command, even 
if inferior in age, prudence, capacity, and virtue ? But how 
far must this obedience extend ? 

St. Francis of Sales says, " that we must obey care- 
fully, faithfully, promptly, simply, frankly, and cordially." 

First, carefully ; that is, in doing everj'thing confided to 
her with the greatest possible care and perfection, how- 
ever lowly or abject it may appear, however hard or con- 
trary to her inclinations. She should even apply herself 
to do with greater care, things which are difficult, rather than 
those which are pleasant and easy. Because the satis- 
factions of self-love are not found there, she is certain 
of accomplishing only the will of God, and the sacrifice 
she makes of her own will is more glorious to God and 
more meritorious for herself. Her obedience should be 
careful, without limit or measure in regard to the things 
commanded ; because there is nothing, either great or small, 
easy or repugnant, in which she should not obey, without 
lessening, in anything, the rigor of the command. She 
should be careful with regard to the persons who command ; 
because there is none to whom she should not submit, officers 
or others whom superiors authorize to command her. 
She should be careful with regard to the place, for there 
is none, either secret or public, sacred or profane, where 
she should not obey ; careful with regard to time, for there is 
none, either in sickness or health, affliction or consolation, in 



132 ON OBEDIENCE, 

which she should not execute the will of God. She should be 
careful with regard to her powers, because she should apply 
them all to what is commanded her ; her understanding, by 
a sincere approbation of the order ; her memory, by the 
most exact execution ; her will, by a generous application. 
Finally, she should be careful with regard to fervor ; 
because she should perform everything with affection, 
never finding anything too much, and always ready to do 
more. 

She should obey faithfully, not contenting herself with 
doing things in part ; not forgetting or neglecting any- 
thing. Her obedience should be entire, not retrenching 
anything from the time allotted for it, or from the circum- 
stances and conditions required. Self-love will always 
try to abstract something from what is God's, and to 
weaken the offering by doing only a part of what has 
been ordered. 

She should obey without delay ; flying at the first sound 
of command, as she would at the voice of God. Her 
obedience should be so punctual, that at the first sound of 
the bell, she should leave a word unfinished. She should 
not wait for an absolute order, the mere inclination of the 
will of the superior, should suffice. She should imagine 
she hears what the prophet said to the people, before telling 
them the orders of God : " Behold, the Lord speaks to you ; 
behold what He says." This sentiment, elevating her 
soul, will give her more activity and celerity. The least 
delay would diminish her merit, and the reward of her 
docility. Were she in the most holy occupation, on her 
knees at the feet of Jesus (Christ, in the most sublime 
contemplation, in the most intimate communication with 
Our Lord, or occupied in shedding torrents of tears over 
her sins, she must quit everything when there is question 
of obeying. 

Again she must not reason upon the command, nor oppose 
anything to it. She should not be satisfied with obeying 
exteriorly, but closing her eyes upon her own lights, 
she should submit, blindly, to the will of superiors. She 
must show no repugnance, no pretexts of self-love, no 
aversions ; she must retrench her inclinations, reflections, 
and wishes, sacrifice her will, annihilate her caprice, subject 



02? OBEDIENCE. 133 

her humors. The orders of her superiors will, thereby, 
become sweeter. She will love them and obey with 
pleasure. What trouble we give ourselves, when we take 
the liberty of examining the orders given us ! The ex- 
amination gives rise to repugnance, and repugnance to 
revolt. To avoid this, she should obey, with the simplicity 
of a child, and leave to God the care of examining the 
views and intentions of the persons she obeys. If she 
sometimes has difficulties and representations to make, 
she sounds her heart, to see before God, if it be not her 
self-love, tepidity, pride, or humor that makes her re- 
present the case. She has recourse to prayer, and asks of 
God light, to see if His glory will actuate her. This over, 
she proposes her reasons with the same sincerity, which she 
would use, if Jesus Christ were present ; without passion or 
vivacity ; with humility and modesty ; purely to obey the 
divine inspiration. After exposing her reasons, she remains 
perfectly indifferent to what may be resolved upon. She 
submits, with respect, and is equally satisfied with yes, or 
no. She does not testify' by a multiplicity of words, nor 
by a gloomy silence, that the decision gives her joy or 
pain. 

By this frankness, our holy founder means that she 
should submit her judgment, and not permit herself any 
reflections that arise from nature and self-love, which 
must be subject in everything to obedience. She should 
never show exteriorly, nor permit interiorly any desire, 
fear, inclination, aversion, complacency, or repugnance. 
All occupations should be indifferent to her ; all places 
equal. If she prefers any, they should be the lowest, 
because Jesus Christ has taught her, that they are the 
best. She should even reserve this preference in her private 
esteem, not to restrain the obedieuce that governs her. 
In fine, she should obey, without restraint, and sacrifice 
her reason to the pleasure of submitting. Hereby, she 
will give her superiors full liberty to order whatever they 
please, and she will free them from the trouble they would 
feel, when obliged to impose difficult commands. Our holy 
Father also requires that we submit to the will of our 
superiors, not through policy, complaisance, and human 
motives, such as to gain their favor, and lead them to 



134 ON OBEDIENCE. 

confide to us considerable employments, but through 
higher motives ; to please God, to fulfil our obligation, 
and draw upon ourselves new graces. 

Lastly, she must obey cordially ; that is, she must love 
the command, and fulfil it with filial affection, being 
persuaded that it is the will of God she accomplishes in 
submitting to those, who hold His place. Obedience 
should be animated by charity. It has this in common 
with faith, which, without love, is but a dead body. The 
command should be received first, and principally, in the 
heart. The love of obedience is often worth more than 
the action itself. It effaces imperfections and negligences, 
and secures for eternity, what is done through its 
spirit. Nothing that is done by the impulse of obedience 
is lost for the future life. But that which is done without 
it, how excellent soever it may be, always runs a risk of 
losing part of its value. It is to be feared that self-love 
and self-will mingle in it, and the ordinary effect of self- 
will is to destroy good works, or their merit, and make 
them useless for salvation. The best that is clone without 
the love of obedience is no longer pleasing to God. It is 
sacrificing to one's self. Love, on the contrary, renders 
meritorious actions which would be otherwise indifferent, 
and it renders more so, those which are already meritorious 
of themselves. Therefore, to eat, to sleep, to recreate, 
are meritorious actions, when willingly done, in the time, 
and with the circumstances prescribed by obedience, 
To pray, to sing the praises of God, to mortify and hum. 
ble one's self are actions rendered more meritorious by the- 
love of obedience, than by the hatred of self and the pirit 
of penance which inspires them. How many occasions, 
then, lias a religious of accumulating merits, and how 
much she is to be pitied, who, having so easy a means of 
amassing immense treasures, loses them through unwill- 
ingness to subject herself ! 

St. Chantal often said to her daughters ; " persevere, in 
obedience." " It is the particular virtue of religion, and 
will maintain it, in its integrity." She made more account 
of obedience, than of any other virtue. In her ardent 
desire for our perfection, she recommended nothing more 
than docility. " Distrust," said she, "every thing in you, 



ON OBEDIENCE. 135 

that weaKens the love and esteem of submission. Obey 
kindly, without inquiring or examining why, or how they 
command ; seek no other reason than that of obedience, 
which has thus ordered it. You may be mistaken in the 
good you wish to do, but iu obedience, you are sure of act- 
ing according to the designs of God over you. Even in 
doubtful cases upon the law of God, and that of the 
Church ; when, for example, you doubt that you need to 
be dispensed from the abstinence prescribed by the Church, 
or by your Rules, the authority of your superior should re- 
assure you. In doing what she tells you, you are certain 
not to err. "I would rather," said she, "see a sister 
take some relief through obedience, than deprive herself 
of it through a want of submission." "Walk, therefore," 
says St. Francis of Sales, "in the simplicity of obedience. 
It is a sure means of overcoming your spiritual enemies, 
and of offering to our Lord, many holy victories, that will 
delight His heart, and draw upon you wonderful effects of 
His grace. Preserve, always, as the apple of your eye, the 
respect, confidence, and holy frankness towards your 
superiors in view of God alone. Blessed are those who 
practice devoutly and simply this article, which teaches a 
part of the spiritual infancy which our Lord has so much 
recommended." And he adds, " this advice is of such great 
importance to maintain the spirit of the institute in its 
perfection, that, when it will be wanting, the spirit will fail, 
but if preserved, it will fill heaven with souls." What 
a declaration ! Was it a prophecy or a threat ! It is a 
saint who speaks, and who does it according to the spirit 
of God. 

What have I not to reproach myself with, O my God ! 
How have I practised obedience until now? How many 
of my actions have I withdrawn from it? How many 
have I performed without the regulation of obedience, 
and omitted those prescribed me without permission, or 
postponed to another time ? And when I have practised 
obedience, what reasonings, delays, and human motives, 
weakened,or destroyed all its virtue? Is this, G my God, 
to live under obedience; and yet I have made the vow? 
What can I do, Lord, to repair so many faults? I come to 
the foot of Thy cross, to again sacrifice and immolate this will 



136 ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIS f. 

which it costs so much to submit. I ratify, and reiterate 
to-day the vow I made at my profession, to see Thee in 
my superiors, and to obey them as Thee ; my will shall be 
forever forgotten and sunk in Thine, 0, my adorable 
Spouse ! Happy obedience ! which breaks shameful and 
criminal chains, to give me those of gloiy and innocence, 
under which I find the true liberty of the children of God. 
I will, then, obey Thee, my God ! with all the simplicity 
and docility of a child. I will no longer reason on what 
will be ordered me. I will not permit myself to examine 
the orders of those who have the right to command me, or 
the motives of their actions. I will never testify my 
inclinations through any human sentiment to lead them to 
order me one thing rather than another. I will undertake 
nothing of myself. I will desire nothing, ask nothing, 
seek nothing, refuse nothing ; I will conform to, and follow 
all their intentions ; I will enter into their views ; will act 
only by their orders ; move only by their impulse. Do 
thou, Lord, regulate, reform, overcome, or entirely destroy 
my rebellious will ; dry up the fatal source of my revolts ; 
preserve me from all the returns of my self-love ; direct 
my steps, O my God, and I will obey Thee unto death. 



SIXTH DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. ON THE KNOWLEDGE .OF JESUS CHRIST. 

First Point. 

" For to know Thee is perfect justice ; and to know Thy justice 
and Thy power is the root of immortality." — Wisdom, xv., 3. 

" He who does not know Jesus Christ," says St. Francis 
of Sales, " cannot hope for salvation. First, because the 
Scripture teaches us that eternal life consists in knowing 
God and His Son Jesus Christ ; secondly, because reason 
itself tells us that we cannot love Him Whom we do not 
know, or possess Him Whom we do not love." 

In fact, the will is a blind power and incapable of loving 



On the knowledge oe jesus Christ. 137 

an unknown object. It is necessary that the understanding 
discover its goodness. The will cannot, therefore, love 
Jesus Christ very ardently, unless it knows very perfectly 
His infinite greatness. This is, without doubt, the reason 
that so few love Jesus Christ ; they do not know Him 
sufficiently to be attracted to Him. On the contrary, the 
blessed love Him with all their strength and with incon- 
ceivable transports, because they know Him perfectly, and 
see Him unveiled as He is in Himself. Now, the love of 
Jesus Christ is necessary for eternal life, and we must 
conclude the same thing of His knowledge, since it is the 
principle of this love, and, as St. Chantal says, " the source 
of eternal life." 

If all men are obliged to acquire this knowledge, how 
much more should a religious cultivate it ! She is conse- 
crated to Jesus Christ, and should serve Him in a more 
excellent manner, leading others to love and serve Him. 
She should avoid sin and perform her actions in a holy 
manner. She should rise to eminent contemplation and 
sanctity, leading a life wholly divine. Now, how can 
she fulfil all these obligations without a knowledge of 
Jesus Christ? He, alone, it is, who can enlighten her, and 
inflame her to accomplish her sacrifice, to glorify and serve 
her divine Spouse, to kindle His love in the heart of her 
neighbor, to repulse the attacks of the demon, to perfect 
her good works, to contemplate divine things, in fine, to 
conform her life to that of her divine Model. Can she 
acquit herself of these different duties, without that holy 
hght, which enlightens the mind and animates the will, that 
is to say, without this knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is 
a science, not purely human and speculative, but affective 
and instructive, leading to the practice of all that is neces- 
sary to acquire sanctity? Ah! a religious, ignorant of 
Jesus Christ, is ignorant of her state, which is founded on 
the intimate and essential conformity she should have with 
Him. 

" I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John xiv., 6.) , 
says our divine Saviour, that is : Whither do you wish to 
go? I point out the way. What do you wish to believe? 
I am the Truth. Do you wish to live? I preserve 
life. Not to apply ourselves to know our Lord is exposing 



138 ON TEE KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST. 

ourselves to go astray, as He alone is the Way. It is 
risking oneself or one's belief, since He, alone, is the Truth. 
It is finding death instead of life, since, by Jesus Christ, 
alone, we live in God. 

From these principles, it follows that the shortest, surest, 
and most necessary means to attain perfection and make 
rapid progress therein is the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 
It is the most necessary means, because nothing discovers 
better to the soul what God is in Himself, His greatness, 
sanctity, and majesty, for, Jesus Christ being the living 
expression of the Father, whoever knows the Son, knows, 
also, the Father. Nothing can give her more lively faith, 
or deeper respect for the mysteries of salvation than to 
know Him Who is their principle, centre, and term. 
Nothing can show more clearly the malice of sin than 
what Jesus has done to repair it. 

This knowledge is the surest way to perfection, because 
we find every thing in Jesus Christ, and our divine Saviour, 
far from abandoning those who call upon Him, even seeks 
those who avoid Him. How can a soul apply herself to 
know Him and not be touched by all He has done for 
her? the love with which He has loved and still loves her? 
How can she study His divine Heart and not expect every 
thing from it? How can she place her confidence in Him 
and perish? 

Finally, this knowledge is the shortest means of acquir- 
ing sanctity. By collecting a multiplicity of views in one 
single object, the attention becomes stronger, the practice 
easier, and the assistance more certain. The human mind 
is so limited that it cannot oe applied to a multiplicity, 
without weakening its application. Therefore, a single 
object, which comprises all perfections, fixes and fortifies 
the attention. For the same reason, a single practice 
renders us more able to embrace it and be faithful to it. 
It will be less fatiguing than ii we proposed to ourselves, 
in detail, all that is necessary for our salvation. It is 
certain that the assistance we derive from the source of 
all good is more efficacious than all we find elsewhere. 

To be perfect, it suffices for a religious to live in a 
continual contemplation of the goodness and beauty of 
God. Penance, continual renunciation, the fear of God's 



on The knowledge oe jesvs ci}risi\ 130 

judgments, are, without doubt, necessary to salvation. Yet 
these virtues have no strength or value in the eyes of 
God, but inasmnch as they are seen, meditated, and prac- 
tised in Jesus Christ. 

The necessity of penance is deeply impressed on her heart, 
as often as she attentively considers what Jesus has done 
for the expiation of her sins, the grief He underwent for 
them in the Garden of Olives, and His bloody death to re- 
pair them. She will learn renunciation from Jesus in His 
crib, in His flight into Egypt, in His silence under calum- 
nies, reproach, and suffering. The Eternal Word will 
penetrate her with fear of God's judgments, when He 
warns her, that He will come as a thief in the night when 
she least expects Him, and when He tells her to walk 
during the light, lest the darkness overcome and prevent 
her. 

From this knowledge of Jesus Christ, comes the most 
perfect confidence ; for, can a religious, who knows what 
Jesus Christ is in her regard, distrust Him? Jesus is 
the Son of the eternal Father, in every thing equal to 
Him, and, at the same time, He is her Redeemer ; can she 
doubt His power? He is her head; therefore, it is 
through Him, alone, that she can exist. He is her media- 
tor ; and through Him, alone, can she find grace and favor. 
He is her Saviour and her victim ; by Him, alone, can she 
pay her debts to the divine justice. He says to her : 
"I am come, not to seek the just, but sinners." What has 
she not to fear, when not sustained by this good Saviour? 
If she sincerely desires to be converted, let her address 
herself to Jesus Christ, let her ingenuously confess to Him 
all her faults, all the opposition that she feels to good. 
In everything and everywhere, let Jesus Christ be always 
the first to whom she has recourse. In her pains and 
temptations, let her represent to herself that Jesus Christ 
is the witness of them, and she will triumph over them. In 
her doubts, let her consult her divine Saviour, and she will 
receive light. Jesus cannot refuse assistance to one who 
asks it with confidence. He only seeks to communicate 
Himself, but most frequently He finds all hearts closed 
against Him. Whence comes this misfortune ? From the 
little knowledge and remembrance souls have of Him. 



140 . ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST. 

They persist in wishing to know the true good by them- 
selves. They are lost in a barren theor}*, in vain specu- 
lations, which flatter self-love and change not the heart. 
But if they sincerely sought Jesus, if they studied Him, 
if they consulted Him, Who, alone, can communicate the 
true light, what progress would they not make in the way 
of salvation and perfection ! The knowledge of this Man- 
God and His light would lead a religious to take Him for 
the model of her conduct. She would endeavor to trace, 
in herself, the features she so admires in her Spouse, at 
least as far as her weakness would permit. From her 
awaking until her going to rest, she would direct all her 
actions by those of her divine Lord. B\ T examining simply, 
and without effort, how He performed the action she is 
about to commence, she would soon learn the manner of 
doing it purely, and perfectlj*. His life would furnish her 
with examples for all the different states and circumstances, 
in which she might be. In temptations, her divine Saviour 
would remind her that persevering prayer and mortification 
are necessary to come off victorious. In contradictions, 
His example would teach her that she should return 
good for evil, that she should not stop at secondary 
causes, but consider the Will of her heavenly Father to 
permit what she experiences, in order to expiate her sins 
and purify her virtues. She will be induced to keep 
silence in imitation of Him, without allowing herself either 
complaint or murmur. His profound humility will warn 
her to flee from praises, or applauses, and refer the 
glory of all to her God. In sufferings, He will tell her 
that it was necessaiy that Jesus Christ should suffer, 
to enter into His glory and open heaven for her. He 
will trace out the formula of her submission : " Father, 
not My Will, but Thine be done !" In her humiliations, 
He will remind her that the angels lost heaven through 
pride, and are now in hell; that man, having through 
pride, wished to know good and evil, was driven out of 
paradise ; that having been redeemed by the death of 
a God, she can enter heaven only by humility, which 
is the way, He has traced out for His own. If sometimes 
Heaven seems to refuse to listen to her, if her God shows 
Himself to her armed with a sword, she will be strengthened 



OX THE KXOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST. 141 

by the example of Jesus Christ, Who, upon the cross, 
cried out : " My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken 
Me?" And by these words: '■ Father, into Thy Hands, 
I commend My spirit," He will teach her that the more 
she experiences an apparent abandonment on the part of 
this God of mercy, the more she should abandon herself 
to Him, saying with her divine Model : " My God, I confide 
my spirit, and all my disquietudes into Thy paternal 
heart." Finally, by the knowledge of Jesus Christ, she 
will be animated to retrace in her conduct all the virtues 
of this God made man, His charity, patience, kindness to 
little ones, compassion towards the sick and afflicted. 
Ever\- thing in Him should be instructive for her, His poor, 
penitent, laborious and dependent life, His wounds, tears, 
sorrows and opprobriums. In a word, she should apply 
herself to conform all her life to that of her Saviour, and 
to render herself worthy of being His. The natural 
inconstancy of her mind and heart, so fatal to perfection, 
should be fixed by the knowledge and study of Jesus 
Christ. " Come and see," said the apostle Philip, " come 
and see Him, Whom to see is to love." l * Can a religious 
soul," says St. Francis of Sales, '* who has applied her- 
self with fervor to the study of Jesus Christ, who has 
placed all her confidence in him, ever turn away her mind 
and heart from so precious a treasure?" "• No," answers 
St. Chantal, " she who loves Jesus Christ, and solicits His 
grace and holy perseverance, cannot abandon Him through 
levity, or lose sight of Him for a moment." 

Second Point. 

Couldst Thou not, O my Saviour, make to me the re- 
proach Thou didst formerly make to one of Thy apostles ? 
and do I not deserve it more than he? '* What, am I so 
long in the midst of you and yet you know Me not?" 
Although 1 have professed to love Thee, O my God, do I 
even know Thee? Have I ever applied myself to this 
study, of which St. Paul knew so well the necessity and 
importance, when he declared that he wished to know 
one thing only, Thee, O my Jesus, and Thy cross ? 

Thy goodness made Thee descend from the throne of 



142 VN THE KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Thy glory to become my Model, and I have not contem- 
plated Thee ! I have been occupied with vain and frivolous 
things, whilst I could have meditated on Thy divine per- 
fections. I heard the voice of the heavenly Father, which 

said to me : " This is My beloved Son hear 

ye Him," and I avoided Thy divine presence, I neglected 
to learn Thy precious lessons. I exist only through Thee, 

Word, by Whom all things have been made. Thou art 
the divine Model I should follow ; I shall be judged by my 
conformity with Thee, aud scarcely do I know Thee. u I 
know Thee according to the flesh," as St. Paul says, "but 
not according to the spirit." I know that Thou hast 
appeared upon earth. Thy name is known to me, as also 
the history of some of Thy mysteries, but have I well medi- 
tated upon them? I possess that knowledge of Thee, 
which is not a saving one, but have I that, which gives 
merit to actions, which unites to Thee by the sentiments 
of the heart, by esteem and, still more, by a love for Thy 
maxims? This favor is in Thy hands, O Lord, Thou 
givest this knowledge according to Thy good pleasure. 
Do not refuse it to me. I ask Thee with the most lively 
earnestness to teach me to know Thee and to love Thee. 

How can I increase in Thy love, as my state requires, 
and practice the virtues so opposed to my natural inclina- 
tions, if I do not contemplate them in Thee? In vain 
would I labor profitably at the acquisition of sanctity, if 

1 do not learn it of Thee, Who art its perfect model. Thou 
art the real source of all virtues ; it is from Thee 
that the saints have drawn those which they have practised. 
These virtues have been virtues in the saints, only because 
Thou hast ennobled and consecrated them in Thy person : 
It is, then, in Thee alone that wc should seek what they 
have taught us. I will even imitate the eminent perfec- 
tions of my holy founders, only because of their ac- 
cordance with Thine. In honoring them, it is less them 
that I honor than Thee, whose traits they have expressed 
in their conduct. Thou hast manifested their glory, Oh 
my God ! Thou hast given to their actions a splendor 
and brilliancy, which inspire me with sentiments of respect 
and veneration for them. But, after all, they have shone 
in the Church like those stars, that appear in the firma- 



ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST. 143 

ment, only when the sun has disappeared, whose splendor 
is borrowed only from Thee, Who art the light of the 
world. What is the most eminent sanctity compared to 
Thine? A truly spiritual man of the last century, said: 
<k Let them entertain me as much as they will on the 
virtues of the saints, let them recount their miracles, 
they will but weary me, if, at the same time, they do not 
speak to me of their conformity with Jesus Christ, the 
inexhaustible source of all justice." '" I only wish," 
added he, with the Apostle, " and I say to Thee, O divine 
Saviour, with both, I only wish, to find Thee in all things, 
I wish for Thee only, and that Thou alone be all in ail 
to me !" " Yes," I will add with St. Bernard, attracted 
by the sublime knowledge of Thy perfections, and, as it 
were, inebriated with the study of Thy sanctity, "let the 
learned doctors^ who teach the most perfect routes, and 
explain the most hidden mysteries of the mystical life, 
be silent : I wish no other master than Thou, Oh Jesus ; I 
wish to listen to no voice but Thine ; I no longer wish to 
hear Moses, who has a stammering tongue ; the lips of 
Isaias are not sufficiently pure ; Jeremias is a child, who 
knows not how to speak ; the prophets have ceased 
prophesying ; but do Thou, alone speak, Oh my God, of 
Whom the/ have told so many wonders ! It is in listening 
to Thee, in meditating on Thy words and examples, that 
I will learn to place all my confidence in our common 
Father, and that, without fear of presumption, I can give 
Him that tender name of which He is so jealous, that 
He forbids us to give it to anyone on earth. It is in 
listening to Thee, and in meditating on Thy life, that I 
will acquire more distinct, more noble and more consoling 
knowledge of Thy greatness and goodness, as Thou dost 
say : 'If you had known Me, you would, without doubt, 
have known My Father also.' (John xiv., 7). To elevate 
myself to Thy divinity, I will meditate on Thy holy 
humanity ; I will seek to unite myself to Thee as God, by 
seeking to imitate Thee as man. Perhaps it would be 
dangerous for me to rise so high and to aspire to such 
great favors, but an Apostle desired it, he asked of Thee 
the grace to see and know Thy Father : w Philip said : 
Lord, show us the Father.' (John xiv., 8)." 



U4 ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Thus, shall I apply myself to study Thee. To know 
Thee is to know all. Thus will I be transformed, little by 
little, as St. Paul says, into Thy image, by passing from 
light to light. P^levating myself by degrees, I will be 
filled with Thy light and maxims. I will love all that 
Thou hast done, and respect all that Thou hast said 
Thou wilt appear to me, as the Scripture says, " full of 
grace and truth." From constantly picturing Thy image 
to my mind, it will be so deeply engiaven in my heart, 
that it will produce those admirable fruits, which, accord- 
ing to Thy promise, they gather, who attach themselves to 
Thee, and these fruits are to become conformed to Thee 
by the imitation of Thy virtues. 

Precious knowledge of Jesus Christ ! Sublime study ! 
You have brought the first christians to the highest sanctity ; 
the greatest saints have made your practice a law. St. 
Francis of Assisium retired every hour into Thy wounds, 

my divine Saviour ! St. Anthony of Padua occupied 
himself only with Thy infancy ; St. Bernard spoke only of 
Thy mysteries ; St. Charles Borromeo meditated all his life 
upon Thy Passion ; St. Teresa applied herself, especially, 
to consider the immense riches contained in Thy holy 
humanity. It is only necessary to go through the works 
of St. Francis of Sales, to remark that Thou, alone, as God 
made man, wast the most tender object of his love, and 
the ordinary subject of his thoughts. St. Chantal, after 
his example, sought to penetrate the depths of Thy actions, 
only after having studied them in the exterior ; she elevated 
herself to Thy divinity only by meditation on Thy holy 
humanity. This is the way that has led all great souls to 
the most consummate perfection ; thus, O my divine 
Saviour, should I increase, according to the advice of St. 
Paul, in all virtues, by the study of Thy greatness and 
mysteries, and by keeping my eyes fixed on Thee, Who art 
the " Author and Perfecter" of my faith. How much time 

1 have lost in giving myself to other studies, as dry 
as they are sterile, and neglecting that of Thy sacred 
person, seeking to slake my thirst at a rivulet, in place of 
drawing from the source itself ; in going through books 
which trace out the paths of perfection, instead of studying 
them in Thee, Who art the most excellent guide, and the 



ON THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR MODEL. 145 

most accomplished model. Jesus ! Thou shalt, hence- 
forth, be the only object of my contemplation. I wish to 
forget all, and to know but Thee alone. My heart is drawn 
by the attraction of this true, divine, and supereminent 
science. But this attraction is Thy work, the effect of Thy 
mercy ; what will become of it, O my God, if Thou dost 
not perfect it? Enlighten me, then, with Thy divine light. 
S how Thyself to me, through the mystic cloud of faith. 
Ma) 7 I apply myself more to meditate on Thy divine 
examples, and regulate my actions by Thine; permit me 
no longer to act but with Thee, by Thee, and for Thee. 
Ah ! if the children of the world ignore the inestimable 
gift they possess ; if Thou art in che midst of them, and 
they know Thee not ; if Thou canst make the same reproach 
to them which Thou didst make to the Jews, that they know 
neither Thy fa her nor Thee, it will be my duty to make good 
an indifference which is injurious to Thee. The more 
they labor to despise and destroy Thy empire, the more 
zeal I will show to acknowledge and re-establish it ; the 
more Thy sacred image is disfigured, the more I will 
imprint it on my life by the most characteristic traits. May 
I study Thee carefully and unceasingly ; may this study 
lead me to the imitation of Thy virtues ; may this imitation 
bring me to Thy love, this love to the most perfect union 
w'th Thee, and this union to the enjoyment of Thy glory 
in eternity. 



SIXTH DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. — ON THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, 
OUR MODEL. 

First Point. 



" Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as most dear children, and 
walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us." — Ephesians v. 

After having studied to know Jesus Christ, a religious 
should think of perfecting herself in His love. As a Spouse 
of Jesus Christ, she is called to a closer union with Him. 
10 



146 ON THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR MODEL. 

The children of wisdom, says the holy scripture, should 
be distinguished by love. "Each one has his art and 
profession," says St. Francis of Sales, "and the art and 
profession of a religious is to love Jesus Christ." She 
is obliged to pass her life in the practice of religious virtues 
and solid piety. Her function is to render, continually, to 
the Lord the worship and service that are due to Him. 
"Now, all the religion, all the solid piety, all the worship 
and service which she can render to God," says St. 
Chantal following the idea of St. Augustine, " consists in 
love." Jesus Christ came to bring upon earth that sacred 
fire of His divine love. But as it cannot live in the world, 
where the waters of iniquity and corruption inundate 
everything, He has hidden it in the cloisters, and obliged 
their inmates to keep it alive. Woe, then, to those reli- 
gious houses, in which this divine fire, like that of the 
temple, has, for want of care in feeding it, been exting- 
uished. 

The means of strengthening the love of God is to place 
as a foundation the love of Jesus Christ, His only and 
beloved Son, and the object of His complacency. St. 
Paul said, that nothing would ever weaken, in his heart, 
the love of the Father, because its foundation was the 
love of the Son. He daily prayed that the sacred 
humanity of Christ might reign in all hearts. 

What, in fact, is more reasonable than to love Him who 
has manifested the power of God in His miracles, the 
wisdom of God in His law, the perfection of God in His 
manners, the light of God in His words, the patience of 
God in His sufferings? Whai more just than to love Him 
who bears all the titles that demand her love ? Him, Who in 
quality of Father, Pastor, Brother, Master, King, Head, 
Spouse, Friend, and Saviour did not form a desire, or per- 
form an act, in the whole course of His mortal life, that was 
not a new proof of His predilection for her? Him, Who has 
loved her in some manner more than Himself, since He 
sacrificed for her His repose, His glory and felicity, His 
body and blood, and His life? What could He give her 
more than His own diviue Person? What more could He 
suffer for her than the death of the Cross? It was, how- 
ever, too little for His love. Not contented to give Himself, 



ON THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR MODEL. 147 

and to suffer on Calvary, His charity led Him to find the 
secret of giving Himself, at the same time, and 
every day in the Holy Eucharist, where He not only 
offers Himself to His Father for her, but where He 
still gives Himself to her in holy Communion ; where 
He sheds His blood into her heart, and applies to her 
its virtue and merit. But if all these miracles, wrought in 
her favor, lose something of their value in her estimation, 
because they are common to her with all men, shall she 
not devote, all her love to Him Who has watched over her, 
with His benedictions, chosen her, because He willed it ; 
and Who, from the womb of her mother, as says the 
Scripture, placed His hand upon her, as upon a victim be- 
longing to Him, and which He reserves entirely to Himself ? 

Our divine Saviour, through no other motive than His 
mercy, has preferred her to so many souls, whom He 
leaves to perish in the world. He cast upon her that 
powerful look, which withdrew her from it. He broke 
the bonds which kept her there ; He conducted her to this 
holy place ; He opened to her the gates of Sion, and fixed 
her in His sanctuary, among the faithful virgins, who 
serve Him, and in tht midst of the most abundant succors, 
which He lavished upon her. Aiter all this excess of 
charity, would it not be inconceivable, that He would be 
obliged to employ authority and command, and even 
threats of hell-fire, to kindle in a religious soul the fire of 
heaven, the flames of His love? " Would it not be still 
more horrible," says St. Francis of Sales, " that this hard, 
and unfeeling heart should be found among the daughters 
of the Visitation, whose only joy should be centred in 
Jesus Christ ; whose only delight should be to think of 
Him, their life, and sovereign desire." 

Should not the charity of this divine Saviour animate 
the soul of a true religious? All that can distract, or 
separate her from her love should be a burden to her. 
A true lover of Jesus Christ aspires only to approach 
nearer to Him, to form with Him but one same unity of 
sentiment. She seeks only to please Him, to be faithful 
to her least obligations. Her only fear is to rob Him of 
some part of the holocaust, by the smallest attachment, or 
the least reserve. Her desire is that all should love Him. 



148 ON THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR MODEL. 

She would wish to compensate, by the ardor of her love, 
for the coldness and indifference of all others. She incess- 
antly reanimates herself by holy aspirations and inflamed 
sighs, divesting herself of all self-seeking, to consider 
only her Beloved. Such is, in a religious soul, true love 
for Jesus Christ. Animated by the divine flame, she is 
disposed to lose every thing, rather than lose His grace. 
She sacrifices to Him the slightest complacencies of her 
vanity, the superfluous gratifications, which only serve to 
flatter her senses, or to make her forget Him ; even the 
success of her labors, she sacrifices to Him. In her in- 
terior, sufferings, sadness, weariness, fear, repugnances, 
aridities, dryness, disgust, and languor; in her exterior, 
contempt, humiliations, railleries, accusations, infirmities, 
maladies, death itself. She prefers the Will of God to her 
own ; she immolates every thing to Him. What would she 
not do to increase in her this divine love ? Persuaded thai: she 
will have, in heaven, for all eternity, only the measure of 
love that, she shall have acquired on earth ; that death 
will only fix her forever in the degree she shall have 
attained at the moment of the separation of her soul from 
her body, just as it will only fire the wicked in the degree 
of malice, in which they shall be at the last moment. ( 

Thus acts the religious, who is exercised in the love of 
Jesus. What a motive for trying to increase daily and 
hourly in this love ! Ah ! what delights does she not find in 
it ! But, to taste this hidden manna, a soul must be entirely 
dead to herself. She must look with contempt, and even 
with horror upon every consolation, but that of loving 
Jesus Christ. We reach lc/ve only through death, and we 
can procure the sweetness of one only by the bitterness of 
the other ; we cannot share the favors of Jesus Christ, 
while we seek those of creatures. In fine, we cannot en- 
joy the delights of the spirit, except by renouncing the 
satisfactions of the senses. This evangelical death, this 
holy hatred of self, this continual renunciation of our 
natural inclinations, this love of crosses and humiliations, 
may at first alarm those, who are beginning to walk in the 
way of perfection, but the love of Jesus, which is their 
end, will, itself, become the way, if they are faithful to it. 
This love, so imperfect in the commencement, will inspire 



ON THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR MODEL. 149 

them with a certain sensible fervor, which will smoothe 
their difficulties, and induce them to practice those virtues, 
so contrary to the passions, so hard to the senses, so 
elevated above reason, and in which, however, religious 
perfection consists. It will at first, accustom them to look 
without fear, and, then, with affection, upon those virtues 
which Jesus Christ has so much loved ; of which He has 
given them such great examples, and which, therefore, 
will become amiable to them. Thence will arise in them 
a desire cf becoming like what they love. Can we truly 
love, and not ardently wish to resemble what we cherish? 
Thus, the true lover of Jesus is led, as it were, necessarilly 
to love and embrace what He loved, esteemed, and em- 
braced, that is,— sufferings and humiliations. Thus, the 
love of Jesus in the soul brings forth all sanctity. " And 
this love," says St. Francis of Sales, u will complete her 
perfection, because it is the end of the religious vows." 
Without it, all the rest is useless. Love is the oil, that 
was wanting to the foolish virgins of the Gospel, and this 
holy prelate applied himself, during his whole life, to fill 
his soul, to penetrate his heart with this sacred love, which 
he inspired by his words and writings. His conversations 
and his thoughts, all his views and intentions, sentiments, 
and affections, spirit and conduct, — every thing in him 
was animated with the love of Jesus Christ. His sweetest 
entertainments were with this divine Saviour; his most 
ordinary thoughts were of Him, his most indifferent actions 
were offered to Him ; he made this divine Lord the object 
of all his love, tenderness, intentions, sacrifices, — of his 
whole life. The last motion of his heart was but the last 
effort of his love, which made him pass from earth to 
heaven, and placed him in the happy necessity of loving 
Jesus Christ, not only constantly, but for all eternity. 

Who walked more faithfully in his footsteps than his 
true daughter St. Chantal ? Who ever lived a life more 
hidden in the love of Jesus Christ? This divine Saviour, 
according to the testimony of the holy prelate, was her 
only love, her only pleasure, and her only end. Intimately 
united to this Beloved of her heart, she referred to Him all 
her actions. He, alone, was the principle, the centre, the 
term, and the only witness of them. She did literally for 



150 ON THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR MObEt. 

Him, her cherished Spouse, what the divine Spouse in the 
Canticles asked of her, and she imprinted his seal so deeply 
on her heart, that she was incessantly reminded of Him, 
His greatness, and His love. She desired only to live and 
die, under the impress and seal of love. 

Second Point. 

O Jesus ! Who, to captivate my heart, hast united all 
that is amiable in God and man, according to nature and 
grace, how have I hitherto loved Thee? O most amiable 
and faithful of Spouses, how have I corresponded to Thy 
predilection? After so much indifference and ingratitude, 
so many offences, Thou still deignest to stretch out Thine 
arms to me, to open to me Thy heart, and to ask for 
mine. Ah ! this heart returns to Thee ; fill it with Thy 
divine love, and let it never more wander from Thee. I am 
confused athaviug so imperfectly loved Thee, and outraged 
Thee so sensibly, and I now sincerly desire to love 
Thee, henceforth, unreservedly. Grant, O my Jesus, that 
for the future, my whole conduct may be animated bv 
Thy love. 

From all eternity, Thou hast loved me with infinite 
tenderness, and thus Thou still lovest me. Ah ! should 
not infinite tenderness have infinite power over the heart 
of its object? This is enough, the only measure my love 
for Thee shall have is to be without measure. I was 
created by Thy love which, alone, made Thee think of me 
when I was nothing. I was created for Thy love, for the 
end of the law, and of mv state is charity. O happy 
fate ! As a religious, I am all Thine, and Thou art all 
mine, therefore, a mutual and eternal love should unite us 
both. O glorious fate ! Thou, O Jesus, hast purchased 
me entirely, my mind with all its thoughts, my heart with 
all its affections, my soul with all its faculties, my body 
with all its senses and powers, my life with all its move- 
ments. Thou hast purchased me at the price of Thy 
blood, and all Thy blood. Thou hast given me Thyself 
entirely, to possess me entirely. Thou hast purchased me, 
that I may live no longer for myself, but for Thee 
Therefore, O Jesus, I will live only to love Thee, I wilj 
love nothing but Thee, or, at least, nothing but for Thee 



6'N THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR MODEL. 15 J 

How worthy of my love is the history of Thy mercies to 
my soul ! What magnificence in Thy benefits ! Not con- 
tent with having, in the eternal counsels, preferred me to 
an infinity of souls, who follow the path of perdition, Thou 
hast chosen me to be of the small number of just and 
faithful souls, who, in the midst of the world, live by faith. 
Thou hast, by special favor, distinguished me from them ; 
Thou hast chosen me, among Thy elect, to consecrate me 
entirely to Thy name and glory. What prodigies has not 
Thy love worked ! What means has not Thy wisdom 
employed to pave the way in which Thou wouldst conduct 
me ? What secret invitations ! What re peated solicit- 
tions ! What clouds scattered ! What disgusts overcome ! 
What obstacles removed ! What facilities prepared ! 
What unexpected events ! What revolutions ! Once placed 
in the secret of Thy sanctuary, what protection, assistance, 
and special graces, hast Thou not, unceasingly, lavished on 
me ! What shall I render Thee, O Jesus, for all Thy 
favors? Why cannot I praise Thee in a manner suited to 
Thy benefits? O that I had a thousand minds and lives, 
or rather the minds and lives of all men to adore and love 
Thee ! O that I could unite in myself all the love and 
homage of the blessed in heaven ! O that I could burn 
with the sacred flames that consume Thy blessed Mother ! 
But the hearts of men and angels are too narrow to love 
Thee as much as Thou deservest. Why I cannot love 
Thee more than I do seems strange and incredible. O 
that I could love Thee with that infinite love, which Thy 
eternal Father and the Holy Spirit have for Thee ! My 
heart is not capable of this love for Thee, my Jesus, but 
at least my desire to love Thee will be as ardent, continual, 
immense, and immortal as my soul ; I will never cease 
calling on heaven and earth to love Thee for me ; I will, 
everywhere, seek to supply for my indigence and incapacit} 7 . 
This ardor of love will unceasingly occupy my heart and 
nothing will impede its desires. 

But, Lord, to whose desires dost Thou listen? To the 
desires of those only who, not being able to love Thee as 
much as they wish, love Thee as much as they can ; who 
refuse no sacrifice that Thou dost ask ; and who, docile to 
the inspirations of Thy grace, are moved only by its 



152 02f THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR MODEL. 

impulse. Thou dost reject, on the contrary, the sterile 
and hypocritical desires of a heart that sighs after Thy 
love, and who, when occasions offer, refuses to give Thee 
proofs of it. Thou abhorrest languid, tepid, and inactive 
desires, that aspire not to divine sanctity. I will prove 
mine, O divine Saviour, by my works ; I shall love Thee, 
not with a love limited to words alone, or to the sentiments 
of the heart, or even to the conviction of the mind, that 
Thou art infinitely amiable, but with that generous love of 
the whole being, that proves itself by actions. Far from 
me be reserve, inconstancy, and self-interest. 

There shall be no division ; I consecrate and sacrifice 
anew to Thee my whole heart, that is my life, of which 
my heart is the source, all its sentiments, tenderness, 
desires, and satisfactions ; my mind, that is all my 
thoughts, judgments, projects, and designs ; my soul, that 
is all my passions without exception ; finally, my whole 
strength, all nry actions, labors, and undertakings. 

There shall be no inconstancy ; my love shall be 
unbroken, and fill every moment of my life. Neither 
time, nor the most severe trials will ever lessen it or 
make it waver. 

There shall be no self-interest ; I shall love Thee, my 
neighbor, and myself for love of Thee. Thou dost not ask 
me to carry disinterestedness so far as to sacrifice the 
goods of grace and glory ; true charity does not rob us of 
the hope of eternal happiness, but perfects it by making 
love its heart and soul. I shall then hope for heaven, but 
only in order to love Thee more perfectly, and without fear 
of losing my precious treasure. J shall feai hell, but only 
on account of the privation of Thy love. This pure love 
of my heart shall not be distracted by false joys, seduced 
by pleasure, dazzled by earthly greatness, cast down by 
afflictions, repulsed by labor, or shaken by temptation. 
Although without feeling or consolation, it will never falter. 
It will consent generously to privation, and, in the midst 
of the most severe trials, it will redouble its protestations 
and acts. It will, unceasingly, dart towards Thee, O Lord, 
through the obscure paths of faith, as if it beheld Thee 
without veil. In a word, I shall love Thee for Thyself 
alone, and if I cannot, shrouded as I am in the senses, 



ox tbe Love of Jesus chuist, ova model. 153 

separate my interests from Thy love, I shall always lead 
them to Thy love. My heart will strive to burn for Thee, 
as Thme burns for me. Thou art, says Holy Scripture, 
a God of fire, and a fire that consumes all ; thus do I wish 
to be on fire for Thj 7 glory and interests, the defence of 
Thy laws, and the accomplishment of the duties of my 
state. A fire shut up is soon smothered. Thus love 
cannot be concentrated, but seeks to show itself; every- 
thing, even its silence, speaks; everything, even the care 
it takes to conceal itself, betrays it. Can I, then, fail to 
make known that I love Thee and Thee alone? that I 
belong to Thee, that I wish for Thee, and that I have no 
feeling but for Thee? Love is not idle, else it is not love. 
Mine shall then be active, and ardent in action. I shall 
sustain it by fidelity to my rules, submission to Thy will, 
obedience to the priests of Thy Church, and the directors 
of my soul. I shall foster it % the holy communication 
of prayer, and Thy holy presence. In that divine presence, 
can I ever become weary or dissipated? disgusted with 
Thee, Who art the felicity of the angels, and the joy of 
the elect? Can I love Thee and find Thy service painful? 
or even not love the pain, by which I can prove to Thee my 
tenderness ? 

Love is, in some sort, all-powerful nothing stops it, and 
difficulties vanish before it. Therefore, there is no 
human respect, railler} 7 , satire, persecution, or contempt, 
no crosses or sufferings, from which I shall shrink ; no 
sacrifice that I shall not make ; no obstacles that I shall 
not overcome. In success or failure, esteem or contempt, 
consolations or desolations, health or sickness, life or 
death, — in all, I shall love Thee. I shall, unceasingly, 
sacrifice to Thee my natural sentiments; I shall conse- 
crate to Thee all that belongs to me ; I shall, in every 
thing, accomplish Thy holy will, and my least actions shall 
be animated by purity of intention, in order to make them 
pleasing to Thee. I shall love nothing with Thee that I 
shall not love for Thee, or rather, I shall really love no- 
thing but Thee, and shall love Thee in all that I love, so 
that Thou shalt be unceasingly the source and the direct 
object of my love. All I shall ask of Thee is to love Thee, 
and as a reward of my love, I only ask to love Thee 



154 ON UNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. 

more. At all times, eveiy day and moment, in all places, 
in every thought, word, and action, Thou wilt be alwa} T s 
present, always sovereignly amiable. As the crime of my 
life, or rather the principle of all the crimes of my life, 
has been to seek self in everything, to refer and turn 
every thing to self, because I loved self and self alone ; 
henceforth, Thou shalt take the place of self, establishing 
Thy love on the ruins and destruction of my self-love. 
In everything, everywhere, and always, I will seek but 
Thee, because I love but Thee, and all else in Thee and for 
Thee. Animated by thy love, all will speak to me of 
Thee, all will lead me to Thee, all will make me Thine. 

Incarnate Word, victim of love, enkindle in my heart 
that sacred fire which immolated Thee for me ; may it 
consume me for Thee, as it consumed Thee for my salva- 
tion ! May it purify my affections, stay my inconstauc} T , 
regulate and sanctify all my movements ! May it animate 
all in me, mind, heart and action ; may my words be words 
of fire ; my thoughts so many ardent flames ; my desires 
so many inflamed sighs! May this heavenly fire be my 
food, the soul of my soul, the life of my life. Ma}- I 
spread and enkindle it everywhere, that everywhere Thou 
mayest be loved, that all may know there is nc evil, save 
that of not loving Thee. May I live of Thy love, expire 
in Thy love, and gain all the treasures of Thy love. 



SIXT^I DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION. — ON UNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. 

"If anyone remainetli not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a 
branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast 

him into the fire ; and he burnetii He that abideth in 

Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit." — John xv., 5, 6. 

As the branch separated from the vine and deprived of 
the sap which fertilized it becomes unfruitful and fit only 
to be burned, so the religious soul, separated from Jesus 
Christ, falls by degrees from abyss to abyss, from inaction 
into languor, from languor into sterility, from sterility into 



02? UtirON WITH JESUS CHRIST. 155 

dryness, from dryness into hell. She, on the contrary, who 
dwells in Jesus Christ, bears in Him and for Him fruits of 
life and sanctity. Closely united to Him, all her strength 
and beauty are within, that is, in the sanctuary of her heart, 
where her God dwells. There is the treasure which 
attracts her, the divine object which charms her. There, 
alone with Jesus, she is happy and contented. She 
listens to Him attentively, and daily discovers in Him 
new beauties, new perfections. Jesus Christ dwells in 
her, He acts in her, and communicates to her His life. 
What a glorious advantage ! What an abundance of 
benefits are contained in this holy union of the religious 
soul with Jesus Christ ! It makes her enjoy so great a 
familiarity with her divine Spouse, that no friends con- 
verse together more frequently, more tenderly, or with 
more facility, frankness, and openness of heart. It pro- 
cures her a wonderful liberty of spirit, that raises her 
above all the events of life, and frees her from the tyranny 
of human respect. It gives her a supernatural strength 
to perform all her actions in a holy manner, and acquit 
herself worthily of all her employments. It gives her a 
divine prudence to conduct herself in all her enterprises, 
a perfect peace and tranquility in all matters, in fine, 
a continual victory over herself and her pas&ions. Such 
is the happy condition to which a Religious of the Visita- 
tion is especially called. " Her life," says St. Francis of 
Sales, " should be so hidden with Jesus Christ in God, 
that she should no longer live for herself, but for Him 
Who has acquired her life by His death. Her heart should 
have no movement, but to tend to unite itself closely 
with that of Jesus." "Her principal care," says St. 
Chantal, "should be to live in the closest union with 
Jesus Christ, that this perpetual union may serve to 
regulate, not only her mind and heart, but her whole 
exterior. O Jesus ! if a religious understood the happi- 
ness of a soul that is united to Thee, that applies herself 
only to love Thee, to give Thee proofs of her love, to 
receive testimonies of Thine, she would not dread the 
application and vigilance which such a union requires. 
Ah ! that I could say to every living creature in the 
universe: 'If you wish to be happy, if you wish to be 



1.56 ON UNION WITH JESUS CHftlST. 

perfect, unite yourself to Jesus Christ!' " This union 
will change your weakness into strength, your pusillani- 
mity into courage, your darkness into light, your tepidity 
into love ; this love will make you retrench all that is not 
compatible with the union of heart you have contracted 
with Him. You will then resist pride, sloth, self-love, 
impatience, resentment, and all disorderly affections; you 
will feel that these cannot be united to the actions of a 
God, Who is humble, annihilated, poor, patient, meek, 
compassionate, and zealous for the glory of His Father. 
The desire to make this union more intimate will be for 
you a powerful motive to exercise yourself in all virtues 
and to practice them in the most perfect manner. 

Was there ever a motive more worthy of a religious 
than the desire of being united with her God? Blessed is 
she who, in everything, and everywhere, sees and hears 
Jesus only ! Who makes use of what distracts a dissipated 
heart,, to rise to Him through Whom all things subsist, and 
to unite herself to Him by the most perfect conformity ! 
Like the lover in the canticle, all things depict to her her 
Beloved. This view alone suffices for perfection ; it is the 
source of all good, and the preservative from all evil. 
What object is more capable of inspiring her with horror 
for sin than Jesus suffering to destroy it ? What master 
is more eloquent to teach her virtue than the Word made 
flesh, Who instructs more by example than by words? 
Who can conceive better ideas of virtue, than a recollected 
religious soul? With the light of her divine Spouse, she 
soon becomes deeply versed in the stud} 7 of sanctity. 
She will unite all that she does to the actions of her 
divine Master, and faithful to enter into herself before 
acting, she will endeavor to do everything as perfectly, as 
He did. Would she dare to add vices to His virtues? 
impatience to His meekness? murmurs to His silence? 
dissipation to His recollection and modesty? She will, 
therefore, overcome herself continually, in order to form 
her conduct on His, to keep up the divine union which she 
has contracted with Him, and which, alone, constitutes her 
merit. Her actions thus united to those of the Man God, 
will breathe a certain quality, which will elevate, ennoble, 
and consecrate them. They will derive from Jesus Christ 



ON UNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. l->7 

all that might, otherwise, be wanting to them. Detached 
from Him, they would be useless for heaven, even if not 
criminal ; " they would be," says St. Augustine, " at least 
so many steps out of the way, but united and concurring 
with Jesus Christ, they will have divine merit." A feeble 
sigh, a short prayer, the least act of mortification, piety, 
or charity, done for Jesus, in Jesus, and through Jesus, 
changes the nature of an act, and gives it infinite value for 
heaven. Yes, heaven, and its eternity will not be too 
much to reward it, because it is Jesus Christ Himself Who 
in her, and with her, prays, acts, and suffers. Thus, 
according to St. Paul, Jesus Christ in her will be her 
hope of her glorious resurrection. Living in Him, there 
is no grace or glory which she is not to expect from Him. 
He communicates to her all His rights. What a con- 
solation this will be for her in the sufferings of this life, and 
what a tender confidence when she shall descend into the 
tomb ! Jesus Christ is her judge,— having always been united 
to Him, He is hardly distinct from her ; how, then, could He 
not be favorable to her? He who gives her everything de- 
serves at least her gratitude, and that she will put some- 
thing into the common treasury. The head gives much more 
to the members than he receives from them, but the members 
have their proper functions, with which they must second 
the head, that the body may be perfect. She is, there- 
fore, careful to study assiduously Jesus Christ, to love 
Him, and compassionate His sufferings, to lament the 
persecutions of His Church, to repair the many outrages 
offered Him in the world, as well as in the cloister. She will 
rejoice at His glory, and at the happy success of the enter- 
prises, which may cause Him to be known, loved, and 
adored. She will preserve an extreme purity of heart, mind, 
and body. In fine, she will love tenderly and constantly 
all those whom faith has given her for sisters, by support 
ing her less fortunate, imperfect, suffering, and may be 
vicious neighbors ; by never offending or scandalizing 
anyone, cherishing even those who may hate her, and this 
because Jesus Christ still loves them, has not cut them off 
from His body, the Church, nor withdrawn from them 
their rights, and still requires from her, in them, and for 
them, proofs of her gratitude and love. 



158 ON UNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. 

Thus thought, thus acted, those two souls, St. Francis 
of Sales, aud St. Chantal, so intimately united to Jesus 
Christ, Who possessed all their minds and hearts, Who 
was always present with them everywhere. United 
to this divine object, they referred to Him all their 
actions, aud, by this sacred intercourse, they drew closer 
aud closer the bonds that united them to Him. In the 
most ordinary actions, as in the most important, before, 
during, and after each of the actions of their lives, 
spiritual or temporal, God, His good pleasure, and His glory, 
was their only end. Whoever could have penetrated into 
these august sanctuaries of Jesus Christ would have seen 
how superior these holy souls were to all human motives, 
how they ennobled everything by the purest love, and 
how they sought God and Him alone, would have under- 
stood that it was from this tender, consummated union, 
which existed between them and the Man-God, that pro- 
ceeded those traits of sanctity which shone in them ; those 
heroic and miraculous actions, wherein there glided nothing 
foreign, nothing humau, nothing that did not mark the 
most intimate union of their intentions with those of Jesus 
Christ. 

Second Point. 

I perceive, O heavenly Father, that I shall never draw 
upon me Thy favoring looks, unless, like Jacob, who 
obtained the blessing of his father by appearing under 
the garb of Esau, I appear in Thy presence, clothed with 
the spirit of Thy divine Son. My works, if not united 
with those of Jesus Christ, -will be imperfect in Thy eyes, 
but presented with His, they will be agreeable to Thee ; 
like to the brothers of Joseph, who could obtain no favor 
by themselves, but who were tenderly embraced, as soon 
as Benjamin accompanied them. I will, then, apply myself 
to the science of imitating Thee, O Jesus, and of 
uniting myself and my feeble actions to Thy virtues. I 
will no longer ask, like the Jews, what I must do to offer 
Thy Father works worthy of Him. Thou hast said that 
the work worthy of God is that we be united in mind and 
heart by faith and love to Him, Whom He has sent us. 
That is, I must enter, Jesus, into Thy sentiments, 



ON UNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. 159 

practice Thy virtues, animate ray actions by Thy Spirit, 
for the degree of my glory shall be in proportion to the 
degree of conformity I shall have with Thee, as head of 
the predestined. 

How far am I from the perfect resemblance that should 
be the glory, the consolation, the life, and the reward of 
a true Religious of the Visitation. I am united to Thee 
by faith, but how little I am united to Thee by charity, 
by the esteem, love, and practice of Thy maxims. I 
perform good works, but are they vivified by the union 
the}' should have with Thee? I profess to know Thee, 
but have I that knowledge which saves and leads to a 
union with Thee, and without which works are dead and 
have no merit? How many prayers, sufferings, and labors 
are lost, because I have not prayed, suffered, and labored 
with Thee, and by Thy Spirit? As a religious, I should 
be but one same thing with Thee ; I should banish from 
m}* soul everything that is not for Thee, every spirit that 
is not Thine. I should judge, according to Thy maxims 
and sentiments, and destroy in myself the empire of the 
senses and self-love ; I should make Thy virtue live in me 
by a constant and continual practice of every virtue, and 
give myself up to Thy guidance. I should enter gener- 
ously into whatever way it shall please Thee to call me, and 
try to persevere in it constantly. In fine, I should follow, 
with perfect submission and dependence, the impression and 
impulse of Thy love. Is it thus I have acted, O my God? 
Have I not lived according to m} T inclinations and pro- 
pensities? Have I not flattered and indulged my senses? 
Have I not preserved the spirit of the world under the 
holy habit of religion? Have I not sought to satisfy 
my views of vain-glory, ambition, interest, and self-love? 
Was this uniting myself to Thee, O Lord, and acting with 
Thee ? Was this loving what Thou hast loved, and doing 
what Thou hast done? Is not this, however, the promise 
I have made as a Christian ? and the particular engage- 
ment that binds me to Thee, and gives Thee a new right 
over me as a religious? In consecrating myself to the 
religious life, have I not declared myself Thy disciple, 
Thy imitator, Tl^ daughter? Have I not united myself 
to Thee by three indissoluble bonds ? By my three vows, 



160 ON UNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. 

have I not placed Thee in full possession of my being? 
Have I not made Thee an absolute and irrevocable gift? 
I have sacrificed to Thee the goods of earth by the vow of 
Poverty ; I have submitted to Thee my senses by the vow 
of Chastity ; and I have despoiled myself for Thee of my 
own will by the vow of Obedience : what remains to me 
that is not Thine and at Thy disposition. After such a 
formal engagement, can J retract, without failing in 
fidelity? I have left the hundred-fold, that is the happi- 
ness of the present life, for that pledge of an eternal 
recompense, which Thou hast promised me, O Jesus, if I 
unite and bind myself to Thee. I devote myself, then, 
entirely, and forever to Thee, O my Saviour ; I sub- 
ject to Thee all my powers, all my faculties, all my 
actions, that Thou mayest be the soul of my soul, 
and that I may no longer live but for Thee, with Thee, 
and in Thee. Come, then, amiable Jesus, and take full 
possession of a heart that belongs to Thee by so many 
titles, and that gives Thee still more by the gift which I 
renew to Thee to-day. Enter into Thy rights, bauish all 
that withdraws it from Thee. In whatever manner, Thou 
disposest of me, whether Thou dost elevate or abase me, 
console or afflict me, destine me for one place or another, 
dost cause my soul to be in darkness or in light, in pain, 
diyness, or desolation, or in the abundance of heavenly 
sweetness ; in the splendor of Thy glory, or the humilia- 
tion of Thy cross ; in whatever path Thou pleasest to 
lead me with or after Thee, Thou wilt find me equally 
submissive. Thou wilt call me, and I shall answer Thee ; 
Thou wilt inspire me and 1 shall act ; Thou wilt make 
known to me Thy divine will, and I shall conform to it. I 
will no longer esteem or desire anything but in accordance 
with Thy esteem and inclination. I will seek nothing but 
what Thou dost seek in me. All that Thou despisest, I 
will despise ; what Thou dost condemn, I will condemn. 
Thou wilt be my study, Thy interest will be mine, for I am 
henceforth but one with Thee. I will dwell in Thee, and 
my spirit shall never be separated from Thine. Thou wilt 
be its centre, and it shall be occupied with Tl.ee alone. 

Thou wilt unite my thoughts and inclinations, Thou wilt 
be the only principle of my works, I will have but one 



ON UNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. 16L 

same will with Thee. I will live but of Thy life, or 
rather I shall not live, but Thou wilt live in me ; I will 
say, still more, all shall die in me, and Thou, alone, O 
Jesus, shalt live. 

In my earnest desire that Thou shouldst reign in me, 
and knowing all the unworthiness of my actions, I unite 
them to Thine, O divine Saviour, that they may be trans- 
formed and become worthy of Thee. 

At my awaking, I will unite the first moment of the 
day, the first of my thoughts, the first movement of* my 
heart to the sentiments Thou hadst in Thy Incarnation. 
I will unite the offering of the day to that which Thou 
didst make to Thy Father, from the first moment of Thy 
birth, when Thou didst offer Thyself as a victim to be 
immolated to His glory. 

I will have these same views in going to prayer, or to 
holy Mass ; I will unite myself to Thy immolation on the 
altar. If in these precious moments, my mind and heart 
are empty and in dryness, I will remember that Thou 
art present ; I will offer Thee to Thy Father, as a good 
that belongs to me by His own gift to me. I will protest 
to Him that I will never be separated from Thee. I will 
place my cold heart in Thine, which is all love, that I 
may love with Thy divine Heart. 

In singing the divine Office, I will unite myself to Thy 
zeal, when Thou didst drive from the temple those, who 
there bought and sold ; I will imitate Thee 03- banishing 
from my soul which is Thy living temple, all affections 
foreign to Tlrv worship. 

In reading, or in study, I will apply all Thy divine 
words to myself, as if Thou didst speak to me in person. 

In my troubles and temptations, I will unite myself to 
Thee, Who didst will to be tempted for the consolation of 
Thy elect ; I will be strengthened by the humiliations to 
which Thou didst submit. Thus, I will find my happiness 
in all that crucifies me, since the cross will be, not only a 
trait of resemblance with Thee, but a new bond, which 
will unite me more intimately with Thee. 

If I pray, I will represent Thee praying to Thy Father, 
either in the temple, or on the mountain, whither Thou 
didst retire to pray. 
11 



162 ON UNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. 

If I fast, I will recall the austerity of Thy fast in the 
desert. 

In serving the sick, I will remember the goodness with 
which Thou didst cure them. 

In going and coming, I will unite myself to Thee going 
through Judea. 

If I am decried, accused, betrayed, forgotten, I will 
recall the detractions and calumnies, with which the 
Pharisees decried Thee, Thy condemnation at every tri- 
bunal, and the perfidy of one of Thy disciples. 

If, at any time, I receive praise, or am elevated to 
honors, I will remember Thy interior disposition in the 
midst of the homage Thou didst receive at Thy solemn 
entry into Jerusalem. 

In my repasts, I will think of those Thou didst take 
with Joseph and Mary. Hunger will make me remember 
that which Thou, with Thy Apostles, didst suffer, when 
they were obliged to gather the ears of corn in the country, 
even on the Sabbath. Thirst will make me think of that 
which Thou didst suffer on Calvary. 

If separation from my relatives or friends causes or 
renews some feeliug of sensibility, I will think of Thy 
farewell to Thy blessed Mother and beloved disciple. 

In sadness, I will recall what Thou didst feel in the 
garden of Olives. 

In sickness and affliction, I will unite myself to Thy 
sufferings. 

In the hour of death, I will think of Thy agony. 

In all the situations of my life, I will recall the remem- 
brance of the different actions of Thy holy humanity ; I 
will unite my actions to Thine ; I will imprint Thee in all 
my senses and powers ; I will form Thy image in my 
whole person, to increase every day according to the 
advice of the Apostles, in the love and union I should 
have with Thee. 



ENTERTAINMENT ON PRAYER. 163 

SIXTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE. ON PRATER. 

"With desolation is all the land made desolate: because there is 
none that considereth in the heart." — Jer. xii., 11. 

If there are so few saints among the children of God, 
it is because so few apply themselves, seriously, to meditate 
upon the truths of salvation. What special means does 
religion offer, particularly to a daughter of the Visitation, 
to know and love Jesus Christ, and be united to Him? 
Prayer. "This holy practice," says St. Francis of Sales, 
" unites, as in a single point, the knowledge and love of 
our divine Saviour, and union with Him." It is a key 
that opens for us His sacred Heart. Its effect is to 
unite our soul to Him, in such a manner, that nothing can 
separate us from Him. "This exercise," says our holy 
Father, speaking to us, 4t is the greatest of blessings for 
you. It is your particular portion ; your hearts will wither 
away, if you do not make prayer your nourishment. 
Prayer will make you enjoy the loving presence of your 
divine spouse. It will establish you in so sweet, simple, 
and perfect a union with Him, that nothing is left to be 
desired. By prayer, 3^011 r hearts will be touched in a 
lively manner with heavenly love. You will be filled and 
occupied with His presence. You will learn His holy will, 
and receive strength to embrace what is most agreeable to 
Him in the practice of solid virtue." 

Thus, this master of a spiritual life, expressed his own ex- 
perience. His maxims, discourses, conduct, and writings 
breathed and taught prayer. It suffices to give here an 
extract of what this oracle of perfection has said on this 
point, to trace its rules, and inspire esteem for this import- 
ant practice. What lesson more secure for a Religious 
of the Visitation. 

"Prayer," says St. Francis of Sales, "is a general 
and universal movement of all the powers of the soul 
which, rising above itself, seeks a uuion with God. This 
divine movement cannot be acquired by the study of the 



164 ENTERTAINMENT ON PRAYER. 

mind, nor by the efforts of the will. We must humbly 
ask it of our Lord, patiently wait for it, receive it with 
gratitude, and second it by fidelity. There are methods 
and rules given for prayer. It is well, especially in the 
beginning, to make use of them, lest we tempt God and 
lose our time; but we must not attach ourselves to them, 
and should be ready to quit them, in order to follow the 
impulse of our divine Master, and subject ourselves only 
to His grace." 

Among all rules, the most excellent is to prepare our 
souls before praj'er. There is a remote and an immediate 
preparation. The first is made before prayer, the second, 
in prayer. The first cousists in a reformation of manners, 
recollection of the mind and senses. The second consists 
in removing obstacles, and seeking the means of elevating 
our souls to God. The obstacles are creatures, our sins, 
and ourselves, that is the noise and crowd of created 
beings, the weight and corruption of our bodies, our weak- 
nesses, and our nothingness. We must, therefore, first, 
banish from our imagination created objects, which are 
clouds that prevent our seeing the beautiful light of truth, 
and we must establish ourselves strongly in the presence 
of God by an act of adoration. Secondly, we must form 
an act of contrition, by which we detest our sins, which 
render as unworthy to approach God. Thirdly, we must 
enter into our nothingness, and humble ourselves before 
His adorable Majesty at the sight of His riches and our 
poverty; His greatness and our lowliness; His infinite 
power and our extreme weakness. Then, we should invoke 
the Holy Spirit, call Him inio our hearts, that He may do, 
or enable us to do what we of ourselves cannot. Then, 
make an act of oblation of all we have to God, renouncing 
our own lights, and abandoning ourselves into His holy 
hands, prostrating, like the Magi, in all humility before 
Him, to offer Him ourselves rather than our gifts. 

After all this, we must call to our mind the subject 
upon which we purpose to meditate, or rather, we should 
give ourselves up to God as far as the creature is capable. 
There should be no effort of the understanding. The more 
tranquil and simple prayer is, the more fruitful it is. We 
should gently occupy ourselves, without violence or con- 



ENTERTAINMENT ON PRAYER. 165 

straint, upon the truth, maxim, mystery, virtue, or per- 
fection about which we had proposed to meditate. We 
should avoid long discourses ; limit ourselves to single 
views upon what God does or demands, in the mystery or 
virtue we are considering, and give ourselves up in peace 
to the light of God, by the entire abandonment of our under- 
standing to His holy will. The less effort we make, the 
farther the divine light penetrates into our soul, and the more 
strongly it is impressed on our mind. It is often like a 
flash of light that bursts through a cloud. Its favors are 
rare and momentary. They are procured only by humi- 
lity, acknowledging ourselves nothing, incapable of any- 
thing. When God chooses to act in a soul, He renders 
her learned in a short time. He impresses on her the 
truths He wishes her to know, with lights so intelligible, 
that she is far better instructed than she would have been 
by long arguments. From the knowledge of divine things, 
we must pass to affections. Consideration is only a 
prelude, and preparation to love. Affections should form 
the principal part of prayer. In them, we must pour out 
our heart, elevating and uniting it to God. We must act 
like a begger at the door of a rich man. To excite com- 
passion, he discovers his miser}*, poverty, nakedness, 
and infirmities. It is thus we must expose to God our 
indigence and weakness, without asking for any thing 
particularly. We should simply say: "Behold my 
nothingness and my pain." Good prayer does not require 
that we pour ourselves out in many affections and multi- 
plied acts. No, they who pray are as angels of earth, for 
the prayer of the angels and blessed in heaven does not 
consist in multiplied acts, but in one single act of love 
alone, which will not be interrupted for all eternity. 
Prayer must imitate the beatific vision, and, since it is a 
sort of school wherein we learn to do what we are to con- 
tinue eternally, it should retrench a multiplicity of acts. 
Thus, limited to a single act of love, it will keep the soul, 
for one or several hours, united to the inexhaustible source 
of all good. 

The resolutions should be short, so that, being more 
easily represented to the mind, they may become the 
principle of all the good works we perform. They may 



166 ENTER TAIXMENT ON PR A YE&. 

be general, or particular : general, as to abandon ourselves 
to the will of God and His designs over us, to do all the 
good He shall please, to correct all that displeases Him in 
us; particular, as to correct such or such a fault in par- 
ticular, whose enormity has been more manifested in 
prayer, to acquire or practice such a virtue, of which we 
have perceived the beauty and necessity ; to avoid such or 
such an occasion, of which we know the danger. As we 
should not follow our own will, even in the practice of 
good, and as we cannot execute it of our own strength, we 
must present our resolutions to God, and ask His grace to 
accomplish them for His glory, making Him the oblation 
of our thoughts, words, powers, and whole being, conse- 
crating to Him, without reserve, all that exists, giving the 
earth and its fruits, yet persuaded that He has no need of 
us or of our gifts. 

In fine, we should conclude our prayer by a little review 
of how we have made it, beg pardon for our faults, and 
thank God fOr the graces we have received in it. 

It is an excellent practice to recall often during the day, 
the resolution made in morning prayer, to reanimate in 
our hearts the holy flames therein enkindled ; especially 
in going to holy Communion, we should draw from our 
pra} T er the disposition with which we should approach it. 
We should see in Jesus on our altar, the same perfections 
that we had considered, adored, and loved in our prayer. 
We should ask the same virtues, and form the same acts 
with which prayer had been filled. Thus the soul, by the 
repeated influence of prayer, will act with more perfection 
and suavity. / 

'• But as the soul advances in contemplation," says St. 
Francis of Sales, " she must simplify these acts, entertaining 
herself with God, and separating herself more and more 
from sensible objects, that she may be more closely united 
to Him, and become more capable of receiving the impres- 
sions of His grace. Some imagine that they have not 
made their prayer well, unless the considerations precede 
their affections, although this is the end for which the 
considerations are made. Such persons resemble those, 
who, findiug themselves at the place whither they were 
going, turn back because they did not come by the road they 



ENTERTAINMENT ON PRAYER. 107 

had intended. There are some who do not make use of 
the imagination, that is, who meditate purely and simply 
upon the mysteries of our faith, conversing familiarly 
with our Lord, without picturing to themselves what He 
has done and suffered for us. This manner is more elevated, 
and is better, holier, and safer. Therefore, we should 
follow our attraction, always keeping our mind in a holy 
liberty, to follow the lights and movements which God 
gives us." 

Prayer is not a work of the mind, it is a gift of the 
Holy Spirit, Who elevates the powers of the soul above 
their natural strength, to unite them to God b}' sentiments 
and communications, which all the wisdom of men cannot 
effect without Him. We must, therefore, follow the method 
which helps us in this holy exercise, the most divine em- 
ployment of a reasonable creature. All ways are wonderful 
in their diversity, and we should have respect for them, be- 
cause they lead to God, and are under the guidance of God. 
But we should not attempt to follow them all, or even to 
choose an}' one of our own movement. The important 
point is to discover the attraction of grace and follow it. 

" Let me tell you, however," says St. Francis of Sales to 
his daughters, tk what I have learned b} 7 long experience, 
relative to the kind of prayer most ordinary among you 
and most conformable to your spirit. It seems to me that 
God conducts almost all the daughters of the Visitation 
to the prayer of a most simple unity and singular simpli- 
plicity of His presence, by a most perfect abandonment 
to His good pleasure and Providence, which I call the 
prayer of the simple placing of the soul in the hands of God. 
It is so salutary that, I assure you, it comprises all 
you can desire to glorify God according to your Institute." 

" It sometimes happens that God tries your soul, and pre- 
pares it for an excellent degree of prayer by great aridities, 
which continue as long as His infinite wisdom judges 
proper. Do not be astonished to find yourself in this state ; 
continue to produce interior acts, which, although without 
taste, are not without profit, utility, and merit. The prayer 
of patience and submission is not less agreeable to God 
than the sweetest enjoyment. Keep yourself sweetly in 
His presence, like a slave before his lord, or a child at 



168 ENTERTAINMENT ON PRAYER. 

the feet of its father. Produce, from time to time, acts of 
confidence, love and fidelity, and, above all, make acts of 
generous desire to correct your defects. Do not notice if 
these acts be agreeable to you or not ; it is enough if they 
please your God." 

"If you are faithful to this, be assured that you will not 
stop here, for the prayer of the Daughters of the Visitation 
almost always ends in great simplicity and repose in God, 
There are different degrees of this state, some possessing 
it more eminently than others. Nevertheless, the}' all at- 
tain it, without perceiving it until they have reached it. 
All consists in being faithful to the attraction of the Holy 
Spirit, and waiting with humility for that blessed moment, 
which our Lord has destined for giving it. Trust in Him. 
To reach God, you must suffer yourselves to be guided 
by Him. His choice is always the best for you. But, 
whilst others, who have the happiness of being admitted 
to the table of the Son of God, occupy themselves in 
tasting the various dishes that are served, you will have 
entered into this sweet repose, will be permitted to rest 
on His sacred bosom, by a simple confidence and a loving 
submission of all your desires and affections. Do not 
quit this method of prayer ; those who abandon it 
seem to quit their centre. They lose their liberty of 
spirit and find themselves in a certain restraint which 
deprives them of peace and greatly retards their ad- 
vancement in the ways of God." 

" Happy the soul who shall persevere in this holy 
exercise of dependenc? upon the will of God, profouud 
submission to His orders, and great purity and simplicity 
of heart. Her fidelity will at length overcome all obstacles 
to her progress. She will find peace in the midst of war, 
light after darkness, rest after labor. She will find Jesus 
and His graces in her annihilation, the only good which 
forms the beatitude of the saints." 

" Prayer opens the treasures of heaven and disposes of 
its riches in favor of many amongst you. Let them be 
faithful to the guidance of the divine Spirit, let them 
nourish themselves with the love and conversatior of their 
tender Father, with that true sweetness without which 
the heart is devoid of life, and life gives no happiness ; let 



ENTERTAINMENT ON PRAYER. 169 

them apply themselves to see but God, to will but God. 
Let them be inebriated with that delicious wine which will 
make them live more in God than in themselves. O 
delicious union, in which nothing is said between the soul 
and God, but heart speaks to heart by a secret method 
communicable only to her who practises it. Not only does 
the tongue speak, but also the eyes, and every other sense. 
Silence holds the place of words. The sacred Lover 
opens the heart, pours in His sweetness, and the soul, 
filled with love, exclaims : "I have found Him whom my 
soul loveth : I hold Him ; and I will not let Him go. Cant. 
III., 4. Dying to herself, she lives only in her Beloved. 
He collects all the powers of her soul into the bosom of 
His sweetness, which leads her to exclaim in transport: 
O, yes, Lord, I am all Thine without exception. Draw 
me more and more to Thy Sacred Heart ; let Thy love 
consume me ; let me be entirely absorbed in Thee, and 
Thy divine perfections." 

" O blessed, indeed, are these holy souls," continues St. 
Francis of Sales, " who hear our Lord speaking within 
them, and receive from His lips words of sweet consolation ! 
Happy the ears closed to all the tumult of this world, to be 
open only to the mysterious murmur of the sweet words of 
love!" But how will the soul attract Jesus Christ and 
retain Him? Behold the secret : be humble and peaceful, 
and Jesus will be with you ; be detached and simple, and 
Jesus will abide with you ; renounce fully and absolutes- 
created and perishable things, and Jesus will possess you. 
Many there are who desire contemplation, but few who 
devote themselves to the exercises that lead thereto. The 
great obstacle to prayer is want of mortification. Empty 
your heart of its affections, and you will taste the sweet- 
ness of God ; leave all, and you will find all, — to say all is 
to except nothing. All the efforts of creatures cannot 
merit this precious gift, but God is so good that He 
usually grants it to great and constant efforts. Should it 
never be granted, there will always remain the infinite 
merit of perfect abnegation. But God makes Himself 
heard by the mind, and loved by the heart ; be attentive 
and faithful. The moment passes quickly in which God 
communicates Himself to the soul, especially when He 



170 ENTER TA INMENT ON PR A YE&. 

desires to be inseparably united to it ; then, be attentive to 
that special moment. He often manifests Himself to the soul 
only to animate her to undertake every thing for His love. 
What can be added to these solid instructions, drawn 
from the works of this great master and disciple of prayer? 
Nothing, certainly, except that this holy prelate, in sketch- 
ing the portrait of a soul faithful to the communications 
of God in prayer, has sketched his own ; and that in dicta- 
ting the way to be followed, he has traced that which he, 
himself, followed. His historians, particularly St. Chantal, 
tell us that .he lived by prayer. Lost, drowned, abyssed 
in God, without yet actually being in Heaven, he did not 
fail to attain that hidden and unknown life, incredible to 
men who walk according to the flesh, but a consoling, 
desirable, and delicious life, in the e} 7 es of spiritual men. 
He reached this life only through a manner of death, which 
habitually separated him from himself and creatures. 
God had gratified him, as he himself said, with much 
knowledge for understanding the sacred mysteries. He 
had shed into his soul, or in the point of his mind, so clear 
a light, that he saw, with a simple glance the excellence of 
the truths of faith. This caused him ardors, ecstasies, 
and ravishments of will ; he submitted by a single acquie- 
scence and sentiment of his will to these truths that were 
shown him. He called the place where these lights were, 
the Sanctuary of God, where nothing enters but the soul is 
alone with its God. This was the place of his retreat and 
most ordinary abode ; notwithstanding his continual ex- 
terior occupations, he kept his mind in that interior solitude 
as much as he could. He said that his manner of serving 
God, was to follow Him, without any support of consola- 
tion, sentiment, or light, but that of simple faith. For this 
reason, he loved derelictions, abandonment and interior 
desolations, or rather, he never noticed if he was in con- 
solation or desolation, but converted all to the profit of 
his soul. 

This conduct had confirmed him in such a habit of 
prayer, that he desired, saw and loved God in all things. 
He even became, in proportion as he advanced towards 
the grave, so absorbed in God, that having no longer time 
to make prayer, on account of the multitude of his occupa- 



oft T&F Mvixe OFFICE. 171 

tions, he, one day, made this reply to his holy daughter, St. 
Chaiital, whom she asked him if he had made it. He said 
that he had not been able to get a moment for it, but that he 
had done what was as good, because he had kept himself 
intimately united with God, making prayer of his work and 
actions. What a model for a Religious of the Visitation ! 



SEVENTH DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION.-— ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. 

First Point. 

"Admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual 
canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to God." — Coloss. iii., 16. 

There are two kinds of prayer, mental and vocal. 

Mental prayer is an elevation of our mind to God, by 
the profound consideration of His mercies or His justice ; 
by an attentive meditation upon subjects of piety ; to 
draw from them holy affections and efficacious resolutions 
for the regulation of our conduct. Vocal prayer is that in 
which we express the affections of our heart by the accents 
of our voice. This prayer may be either private, made in 
our own name, for our own wants ; or public, offered in the 
name of the whole Church, by those deputed thereto, for 
the necessities of the whole christian world. This should 
be vocal, that it may be known by the people, for whom 
it is offered. It is more commonly called the Divine Office, 
because by reciting daily this prayer, we render to God 
our services and homages. 

Although it is not easy to point out the origin of the 
Divine Office, or the time when a form and methodical order 
was given to public prayer, it is certain that, as soon as 
men formed society, the}- assembled to offer sacrifices 
of piety to the Supreme Being. From the beginning of 
the world, when each one followed the instinct and impres- 
sion of his private devotion, to know and invoke the 
Lord was but the same thing. 



172 OiV THE DlVItiE OFFICE. 

If from the natural law, we wish to descend to the 
written law, we find details of the morning and evening 
sacrifices, of the religious worship which was to be rendered 
to God by solemn prayers always accompanied by sacrifi- 
ces. We see there the priests, prostrate between the vesti- 
bule and the altar, mediators between God and man, weep 
ing, groaning, asking mercy for the iniquities of the people. 
We there read that David sang seven times a day the 
praises of the Lord. 

But it is principally in the law of grace, since the insti- 
tution of the Church, that there have been certain hours 
in the day and night, when the ministers of the altar 
assemble with the faithful, to pray in the temples, and, 
in times of persecution in vaults and recesses. St. Peter and 
St. John went up to the Temple to assist at the prayer 
that was made there at the ninth hour. St. Paul and Silas 
arose at midnight to praise God. The apostles entrusted 
zealous persons with the offices of charity and the service 
of the poor, that they might employ themselves in prayer, 
and the ministry of the word. From this we find, that from 
the commencement of the Church, there have been two 
functions attached to the holy ministry, prayer and preach- 
ing. The functions of the ministers of the Gospel were 
to preach, instruct, and labor for the conversion of souls. 
Others have more particularly had prayer for their portion. 
In course of time, religious men and women became 
associated with these same intentions. They must, by 
their piety, cause the labors of the apostolic men to 
fructify. Like Moses, tl/ey must raise their eyes and 
hands towards heaven, to support the Joshuas who combat 
for Israel. One of the obligations ot their state is to sing 
the praises of God. This duty, common to all religious 
orders, is equally and essentially attached to the quality 
of a Religious of the Visitation. The divine Office is a 
sacred tribute which religion daily requires from her. In 
this respect, she is a minister of the Church. The faith- 
ful, engaged in the embarrassments of the world, rely 
upon her zeal and fervor. They confide to her their 
desires, their prayers, their groans, that she may carry 
them to the throne of God in their name. She is their 
tongue, their voice. They have chosen her as their inter- 



ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. 173 

preter, their mediator. Her obligation is to offer to the 
Lord the sacrifice of her lips for their sins and her own. 
Whilst they are occupied with the affairs of the world, her 
state requires her to be occupied with those of heaven ; 
and whilst they, perhaps, are given up to their pleasures, 
and arouse the anger of God by their crimes, it is her 
office to lift up her pure hands to appease Him by the 
voice of her tears, Whilst they blaspheme the name of 
the Lord, it is her office, as deputed by the tribes of Israel, 
to praise and bless Him. It is to leave her the enjoyment 
of perfect liberty in the exercise of these sacred functions, 
that she has been disengaged from all worldly solicitudes. 
It is true, that she is obliged only to the small Office, but 
for this very reason, she should assist at it with more 
exactitude. The obligation is less than that which is 
imposed on others ; therefore, her fervor should supply the 
deficiency. By the union which exists between all re- 
ligious orders, the prayers of one member become common 
to the community. A daughter of the Institute should 
then contribute all she can to the common fund into 
which others put infinitely more than she. St. Francis of 
Sales prescribes the strictest rules for the recitation of the 
Office ; here is what he says. 

" She sees a ray of light and enjoys a ravishing sweetness 
which no one knows but the heart that feels it, and the 
heart that feels it scarcely knows it,, because, often, what 
it feels passes away almost immediately. Often, when she 
wishes to embrace and retain Jesus Christ, she hears these 
sad words : " Approach Me not ; it is not yet time to 
enjoy Me ; wait until I have entered into My glory, 
or rather, until you come to Me. There remains much for 
you to do and suffer." Thus God often manifests Him- 
self to the soul to animate her to undertake everything 
for His love. She would never be worthy of His visits, if 
she took too much consolation in them. It is in prayer 
that the soul is exercised and tried ; there it is, she under- 
takes the most heroic enterprise for her perfection. It is 
in prayer, that she rests from her labors ; it is from 
prayer, that she derives strength to perform her duties. 
Contemplation and action are inseparably united. She 
has the greatest esteem for special favors, but she judges 



174 ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. 

herself unworthy of them and does not ask for them. 
She suffers nothing in herself, she does nothing whictr*can 
oblige God to deprive her of them. If He bestows them, 
she esteems the Author of the gifts more than the gifts 
themselves. She is ready to sacrifice them, when He orders 
it, or when the service of this same God obliges her to 
deprive herself of them. 

" As soon as she hears the sound of the bell, which calls 
her to the divine service, let her go diligently to the choir. 
She should, in imitation of St. Bernard, ask herself what 
she is going to do, that she may enter upon this exercise 
with a proper spirit. She should remember that she is 
about to speak to a God, Who is the Sovereign of Sovereigns ; 
in the name of Jesus Christ, the Saint of Saints ; in the 
name of the Church, who is the pure spouse of a Spouse 
infinitely pure. Therefore what purity should she, herself, 
not have? She should, at least, be without any attach- 
ment to sin, lest, instead of drawing upon the people the 
graces of the Lord, she should draw His maledictions upon 
them, as well as upon herself." 

The second rule her holy founder imposes on her is 
attention of mind. There are three kinds of attention ; 
first, attention to the words she recites ; second, attention 
to the sense of the words ; and third, attention to God, to 
Whom she speaks. The first requires that she pronounce, 
sing and say the Office as directed, that is, distinctly, aud 
without precipitation, avoiding that rapidity which scarcely 
distinguishes between the beginning and ending of the 
verse, which wearies her without attaining the end she 
proposed to herself, and which makes of the divine 
psalmody only a confused noise. This attention is 
necessan', but it is not enough. She must attend to the 
sense of the words. " Let those," continues he, " who 
understand what they say in the Office, employ faithfully 
this talent, according to the good pleasure of God, Who 
has given it to them to aid them in keeping themselves 
recollected, by means of the good affections they may 
thence draw. They who do not understand the words must 
simply keep themselves attentive to God, or they ma}* 
make affectionate aspirations, whilst the other choir say 
their part. But, whatever they do, they must be very 



ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. ■ 1 75 

attentive, respectful, modest, and recollected, before the 
divine Majesty, Who listens to their prayer. Let them 
consider that they are performing the same office as the 
angels, although in a different language, and that they are 
in the presence of the same God, before Whom the angels 
tremble. With what modesty do we present ourselves 
before the kings of earth to obtain favors? Such should 
be the conduct of a true daughter of the Institute before 
the King of Kings." "They must not, however," says 
their holy founder, "be troubled about the involuntary 
distractions they experience. How great soever they may 
be, they must not be disquieted, but simply reject them, 
from time to time before God ; for there is much differ- 
ence between feeling and consent." 

We daily experience, that in spite of us, a thousand 
distractions trouble our prayer, that our volatile spirit, 
every moment agitated by the importunate objects that 
strike it, can, with great difficulty, fix itself upon some- 
thing it does not see. We know that, often, notwithstand- 
ing all our precautions, a crowd of vain thoughts elude our 
vigilance and find entrance to our minds. Has man 
the power to prevent the corruptible and material body 
from weighing down the soul? Can he hinder the imagina- 
tion, fruitful in representations and images, from inter- 
rupting the most important actions of the spirit? There- 
fore, God, on account of our weakness, is satisfied with an 
habitual attention, which subsists in virtue of the first 
intention of praising, honoring and glorifying Him, and of 
obtaining graces from Him. But if, on the contrary, the 
impression and influence of this first intention should fail, 
by admitting voluntary distractions, or by not guarding 
our senses during the Office ; if we do not recall our 
fugitive mind, to the only object which should fix it as 
soon as we perceive the distraction, we convert one of the 
most excellent acts of religion into a sin and deprive it of 
all merit. It has no longer the power to obtain graces, for 
the Scripture tells us that God does not hear the prayers 
of him, who thinks not of God when he prays. But, how 
can we fix our attention ? Ah i the mind would be more 
attentive, if the heart were more fervent, and this fervor is 
the third condition for the recitation of the divine Office. 



176 ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. 

Since the heart commands all the faculties, everything is 
distracted when it goes astray, and nothing in us prays, 
when the heart ceases to pray. God examines and sounds 
the motions of the heart. His penetrating looks do not 
stop at the surface. A counterfeit modesty does not 
touch Him. A composed exterior does not deceive Him. 
In vain do we honor Him with our lips, in vain do we sing 
His praises, if our heart is far from Him. Without 
fervor all becomes useless ; our singing is but an empty 
sound which strikes the ear and falls back of its own 
weight. Thence arise disgust, weariness, languor, and 
weakness. If love does not awaken prayer, it is impossi- 
ble for the mind to sustain it. To do our dut} 7 with 
pleasure, we must love it ; we must be led to it by power- 
ful motives. Now, were there no duty other than that of 
responding to the Canticles, with which the heavenly Jeru- 
salem incessantly resounds for the glory of God, what a 
powerful motive this would be for the heart of a true 
religious ! What more holy and glorious for her, than to 
do on earth what the blessed are doing in heaven, and 
what she herself will do there, if she attains the same 
happiness ? But that which should animate her fervor is 
to consider, that in saying the Office, she prays as a min- 
ister of Jesus Christ, and as a minister of the Church. As 
a minister of Jesus Christ, she prays in His name, with 
Him and by Him. She should, therefore, unite herself 
perfectly to His spirit, and enter into the same disposi- 
tions of respect, devotion, and fervor, which He had when 
He praj-ed to His Father. /Asa minister of the Church, 
she is deputed by her to intercede in behalf of sinners, 
who are her children, criminal as they may be. She is to per- 
form the office of mediatrix between God and them, 
and obtain their pardon and reconciliation. With what 
humility and respect should she not conduct herself in so 
august a ministry? Treating in the name of sinners, 
should she not enter into the dispositions proper for 
criminals? Should she not remember the love and fervor, 
with which the Church, that tender mother, prays to the 
Eternal Father, and endeavor to imitate her? 

In fine, she is not only obliged to be present in the 
choir, but also to sing there. It is not a mere presence 



ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. 117 

in person, that the Church requires. It is her solemn 
duty to support the chant, to share with her Sisters the 
labor as well as the merit of this pious exercise. She 
must form with them, by the union of her voice, the 
harmonious concert in which the Church militant, and the 
Church triumphant join their heavenl}- accords, in honor 
of the divine Majesty. To this she is bound in quality of 
a choir Religious. If she has the title, she is to perfoim 
the functions, how fatiguing soever they may appear, to 
her. Such is this obligation according to the idea of St. 
Francis of Sales, who says: " that when from some in- 
dispensible cause, she enters the choir after the Office 
has been commenced, she must take her rank with the 
others, and sing the Office with them ; and afterwards 
resume what the choir had previously said." 

Second Point. 

How ill I have hitherto acquitted myself, O my God, 
of the obligations I have to the Office. The highest 
powers of heaven tremble before .Thee, O Lord, in 
praising Thee, and I, who am but dust and ashes, recite or 
sing Thy praises with negligence, precipitation, and even 
indecorum. 

Every condition of life has its occupations and peculiar 
duties. The soldier has the labor and fatigue of his 
profession ; the minister of justice is continually occupied 
with the study of the laws, and the care of settling a 
thousand different interests ; the merchant travels over seas 
and lands, always occupied in troublesome negotiations. 
The husbandman bears the heat and burden of the day to 
cultivate the earth and make it produce fruit, and I, 
destined by my state to perform here below the same office 
which the Angels do in heaven, I do this work negligently 
and without piety. This occupation should draw upon the 
people and upon myself Thy graces and benedictions, 
whereas, I make it a source of sins, of maledictions, and 
the subject of my condemnation. What negligence and 
sloth in attending to this holy exercise ! What delays 
in going to the choir, and what impatience to return from 
it ! How often I absent myself from it through disgust, 
12 



1 78 .ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. 

or indifference, without any reason or necessity, and, 
perhaps, without permission ! How often have I been 
employed in frivolous cares, scarcely reserving for the 
recitation of my Office, the time necessary not to sin 
mortally ! Have I not often invited creatures to praise 
Thee, O my God, at the rising of the sun, when it had 
already set? Have I not even looked upon the short 
Office to which I am bound, as an inconvenient burden 
from which I have sought to rid myself as quickly as 
possible? Have I not often counted the moments with 
disquietude, and sung Thy mercies with weariness? Am 
I not often occupied there with myself and the reflections 
of my self-love, instead of being occupied with Thee 
alone ? Have I not sought a certain position and rest of 
body and mind which pleased me? How many amuse- 
ments, dreams, and voluntary distractions? What move- 
ments of piety, which have passed with the rapidity of 
lightning? Given up to all the levity of a mind occupied 
with everything but Thee, the divine object, which should 
fill it, have I not admitted a crowd of frivolous thoughts, 
for which the time of prayer was like a signal? By this 
want of attention, the divine light and tender affections, 
diffused throughout the psalms, have scarcely touched 
my soul, and left it void of sentiment and entirely dry. 
What a contradiction ! I would scruple to omit the least 
part of the Office, and I do not scruple saying the whole 
of it without attention and fervor. How often have I 
been as a sounding brass, a tinkling cymbal, O my God ! 
Yet I pretended to touch Thy Heart and satisfy my 
obligation ; since, according to the Apostle, to render this 
prayer fruitful and meritorious, we should support the 
chant with attention of mind and fervor of heait. How 
far have I withdrawn from these dispositions in bringing, 
as preparation to the Office, only the fear of its length and 
restraint; in going to it as late as possible without 
considering the demands of the rule and propriety ; 
assisting at it, as at a spectacle where I was constrained 
to be, without drawing any other fruit than that of 
coldly pronouncing many words, whose meaning and 
virtue I took no pains to penetrate ; in softly yielding to 
the first feeling of weariness? How often has not my 



ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. 179 

heart contradicted what my lips pronounced, and I re- 
moved myself far from Thee, whilst I incessantly repeated 
Thy Name. O, my divine Saviour ! where is my faith, 
respect, and my love for Thee? Are we distracted, 
or wearied when conversing with a friend, a father, a 
spouse? How great is my ingratitude, my blindness. 
The angels tremble with fear before Thy throne, and I 
yield to languor, weariness, and disgust ; they are inflamed 
with the fire of Thy fear, and I am frozen there ; they 
thrill with Joy and pleasure, and I am but dryness and 
languor ; they cannot take their eyes from Thee, and I 
cannot, for a moment, keep mine fixed on Thee, O object 
infinitely amiable ! What an outrage, O Lord, what 
punishments of Thy justice do I not draw upon myself ! 
Far from expecting from Thee a recompense for service 
so badly fulfilled, and so unworthy of Thy Majesty, have 
I not reason to dread Thy most severe chastisements? 
Ah ! what is my blindness ! If in the midst of one of these 
offices, at which I assist with so much indevotion, 1113* 
faith should suddenly revive, would I not see Thee filled 
with indignation and fury? Would I not hear Thee 
reproach me with the wanderings of my mind, the insen- 
sibility of my heart, my baseness, tepidity and irreverence ? 
Wouldst Thou not say to me by the Royal Prophet ; 
" Why dost thou profane My praises, by uttering them 
with thy impious mouth? " 

Pardon me, O Lord, and mercifully suffer Thy anger to 
be appeased. Thy tender heart strikes with regret those 
for whom it still preserves the sentiments of a Father. 
Let me then arrest the arm of Thy justice by my tears and 
humiliations. I will expiate my tepid prayers by 
fervent ones. Henceforth abyssed in Thy divine presence, 
annihilated at the foot of Thy throne, I will in some 
manner constrain Thy mercy, by my respect and adora- 
tions. I will acquit myself of the divine Office with zeal 
and love. I will render myself worthy of singing Thy 
praises, by living in the greatest purity and most perfect 
mortification of my senses. I will proceed joyfully to 
the choir, as soon as I hear the bell that calls me thither. 
I will endeavor to be penetrated with the same sentiments 
of respect with which the blessed are filled before Thy 



] 80 ON THE DIVINE OFFICE. 

throne. I will invoke Thy spirit to come and take 
possession of my soul, to form there sentiments con- 
formable to the words which my mouth will utter, that it 
may be not I who speak, but Thyself, Who speakest in 
me and by me. Every word that I say I will pronounce as 
though it were my owu. I will be penetrated with the 
affections which the words I recite or sing express, or if I 
do not understand the meaning of the words, I will 
entertain myself with Thy mysteries, and will unceasingly 
reanimate my faith bv reiterated and fervent acts. I will 
watch over my senses ; I will give no occasion to dis- 
tractions either by curious looks, or useless words. As 
soon as I shall perceive that my mind or my heart wanders 
from Thee, I will ask Thy pardon ; I will humble myself 
for my weakness ; I will renew my application with more 
fervor ; I will conjure Thee to fix my mind, and to unite 
my heart to Thine. I will comsume myself as a 
holocaust of love, by the fervor of my prayers. Each 
word that I pronounce will be like a flame from my heart, 
will ascend to Thy throne, to renew to Thee my attach- 
ment, my ardor and respect. The celebration of Thy 
divine Sacrifice will be, for me, a species of transport and 
ravishment. I will avoid every posture too convenient or 
wanting in propriety. I will not spare my voice ; it 
cannot be employed in a more glorious exercise. In 
singing with my lips, I will also sing with my heart, 
according to the counsel of the Apostle, being persuaded 
that I speak to Thee, O Lord, and, that Thou speakest to 
me ; that I say nothing but what Thy holy spirit dictates 
to me. After the Office, I will ask pardou for the invol- 
untary distractions I ma}' have had, and for the negligences 
I have committed. I will purify all my defects in Thy 
precious Blood, and when I go from the choir it shall be 
as from heaven, all penetrated with Thee. 

Give me Thy grace, O my God ! to fulfil these holy 
resolutions ; pour into my soul that spirit of prayer, which 
forms in the heart of Thy children those desires, which 
Thou dost hear and which Thou canst not resist. 



THE INTERIOR LIFE. 181 

SEVENTH DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. — THE INTERIOR LIFE. 

First Point. 

"You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."— 
Coloss. iii., 3. 

There are, according to the Scriptures, two sorts of life, 
the one interior, the other exterior ; the one terrestrial, 
animal, carnal, the other spiritual, heavenly, and divine. 
The difference between these two lives arises from the 
difference of the objects which occupy the mind and heart, 
and which cause our joy, our sadness, our love, or our 
hatred. The exterior life degrades man to the level of the 
beasts ; the interior life elevates him to God. Whoever 
lives the exterior life, although he may be clothed with the 
most illustrious titles, is but a base and grovelling soul, 
whose sentiments do not rise above the earth. A christ- 
ian, instructed and formed by the Holy Spirit, has eyes only 
to contemplate things eternal, a mind only to despise what 
is transient and perishable, a heart only to love God and 
the interests of His glory. Such a one is truly a noble 
and great soul, of which the world is not worthy. 

The interior life consists in corresponding to what is 
supernatural, to all the inspirations of God, and all the 
movements of grace, mixing with these, nothing that is 
human. Such is, in a few words, the whole teaching of 
St. Francis of Sales, and such the spirit according to 
which a true daughter of the Institute acts. She gives to 
the exterior and natural life only what she cannot refuse 
it ; she is absorbed and lost in the supernatural and interior 
life. She keeps her mind continually recollected to li^tan 
to God, and her heart free to follow Him. She has 
everywhere, and at all times, her divine Model present 
before her, and unites herself to Him without interruption. 
She separates herself from creatures, not only in the 
exterior but also in the interior. She carries within her a 
solitude, in which her soul always remains inclosed. " In 



182 THE INTERIOR LIFE. 

a word," says her holy Founder, " she keeps herself hidden 
with Jesus Christ in God," so that she is entirely annihi- 
lated in herself, and lives no longer in herself, but in Him, 
Who has acquired her life by His own death. " She has 
renouueed the world," says St. Chantal, " to be forgotten 
by it, no longer to live for or to know it, and that nothing 
may divert her from her only affair, which is to tend to 
the perfection of divine love." " Her affections," she 
says elsewhere, " should be so simply united to God, that 
nothing should be attached to her, and she should be 
attached to nothing. Her mind and her heart should be 
so occupied with our Lord, that even in the exterior 
employments she must fulfil, she should never lose sight 
of Him, and should always act in His holy love. In a 
word, she should walk within herself, in the presence of 
God, and have no attachment without." 

According to these principles of her holy Founders, 
which were the soul of their conduct, a true daughter of 
the Visitation makes within herself an interior solitude, 
where separated from every created object, she concen- 
trates herself and remains with our Lord. Like the 
angels, who carry heaven with them wherever their 
functions call them, because they see everywhere the 
face of God, the religious carries with her this heaven, 
which is the solitude of the heart, wherever obedience calls 
her. There, always united to her divine Spouse, she 
incessantly applies herself to contemplate His greatness, 
to unite herself more and more to Him, to return Him love 
for love. Attentive and faithful to her God, she considers 
Him in all she does. She has no intention but His glory. 
She consults Him in all her designs. She makes His 
maxims the rule of her conduct. She relies only upon Him 
in all her proceedings, and makes His assistance and grace 
the only foundation of her confidence. Watchful over 
herself she examines all that passes in her heart, and 
perceives a thousand natural movements that would escape 
a dissipated soul, a thousand human views mingled in the 
best actions, a thousand continual, but almost impercep- 
tible returns of self-love which glide in everywhere. O 
how many faults such a soul avoids by her vigilance and 
interior watchfulness ! What peace does it not bring to 



THE INTERIOR LIFE. 183 

her soul : what merit does it not attract to her actions ! 
Finally, what perfection does not such a soul attain in 
doing even the most ordinary things ! 

Recollection of spirit keeps the soul in the presence of 
God ; and can there be a more sovereign preservative from 
sin, a shorter aud surer way of arriving at perfection ? 
What is more proper for keeping her in regularity and 
order? What more efficacious for repressing the motions 
of the passions ; for making her triumph over the most 
violent temptations ; from preventing her yielding in the 
most dangerous occasions ; than to think, incessantly, that 
she is in the presence of God, her Father, and the most 
faithful of Spouses? What more efficacious means for 
preserving her from the falls of frailty, and for leading 
her to perfection than the mingled sentiment of fe&r and 
love? This salutary and sweet thought is for her, at once 
a powerful stimulus, and a source of the sweetest consola- 
tion. It sustains and animates her in the labors of her pro- 
fession. The holy Scripture says* " Let the just soul be 
filled with a holy jo} T and penetrated with a salutaiy fear, 
since she always views God, and is ever before His eyes." 
What in effect, is better calculated to fill a true religious 
with pure delights, to mitigate her pains, and strengthen 
her in her combats, than this consoling reflection, kt God 
sees me!" This delightful thought forms her more and 
more, and makes her advance in the interior life, in the 
life of love. She remembers that she lives only in the 
immensity of God, that she has no motion but by His 
operation, that above her, this magnificent God rewards 
His own gifts, that below her, this just God punishes the 
sinner, that around her, a compassionate God serves her 
in His creatures, that within her, He wishes to be her 
life, her sentiment, her light, her all. This remembrance 
stimulates her to sanctity. Her heart, consequently, 
becomes His dwelling, His chosen abode. Jesus Christ, 
Himself, purifies this heart. He directs it, possesses it, 
and renders it a perfect holocaust of love. He makes it 
an altar, whereon He offers victims to the glory of His 
Father, and kindles the fire to keep it up without inter- 
ruption, that fire, which He came on earth to enkindle in 
the hearts of men. He keeps His divine eyes continually 



184 THE INTERIOR LlEE. 

fixed upon this faithful soul, and this sacred look incess- 
antly wounds her with a new dart of love. 

Such are the precious fruits produced by the interior life. 
But, to gather them, other means are also mentioned by her 
holy Founders, besides the exercise of the presence of God. 

A religious of the Visitation, according to their pre- 
cepts, must regulate her heart as well as her mind: She 
is to entertain not only pious thoughts, but also holy 
sentiments. She must live in the greatest purity of 
intention. She must sacrifice every attachment that is 
too human and too natural. In a word, she must practise 
the most perfect mortification. 

To become interior, she must repress the sallies of her 
humor, her vivacity, her eagerness,, and the excess of a 
joy too dissipating. She must regulate her exterior, be 
composed, modest, reserved in her manners, in her words, 
in her actions. Too great a dissipation announces unmodi- 
fied passions, and a soul unfaithful to the lights and 
inspirations of grace. She should, therefore, faithfully 
guard her senses, especially her eyes and ears, because it 
is through them that dissipating objects enter. She 
must repress the wanderings of the imagination, and reject 
all vain and frivolous thoughts. 

She must not overcharge herself with occupations how 
good soever they may be ; that is to saj-, she must under- 
take none but what duty, obedience, and a well regulated 
charity require. When occupations are excessive, they 
usually dissipate the mind, and dry up the heart. 

She should establish the greatest order in her actions, 
performing all through a Spirit of obedience to God ; 
accomplishing His will and good pleasure in them all ; 
seeking Him even in the most indifferent, and proposing 
Him to herself as her only end in everything. 

Finally, she should, at the commencement, in the course, 
and at the end of each action elevate her mind to God by 
ejaculatory prayers. They are like arrows from a burning 
heart going direct to the Heart of God, and returning 
more ardent, and more capable of inflaming the heart 
whence they first came. These short and fervent prayers 
should be less the fruit of study or reflection, than the 
effect of heavenly unction, and an expression of the heart. 



TffE TNTEMOk LIPS. 185 

They are sparks which rekindle the fire of God's love in 
the heart. They are to the soul what breathing is to the 
body ; they refresh and vivify it, they are the sighs of a 
heart that loves God, but wishes to love Him still more. 

Second Point. 

How great, how delightful, how glorious is the truly 
interior life ! But, alas ! how far am I from it, O my God ! 
In what dissipation of mind and heart have I not hitherto 
lived ! Consequently, I have lost, perhaps, the fruit of so 
many years spent in religion. My life exteriorly has 
been regular enough ; I did not wish to give scandal in the 
house of God. Reason alone, and the care of my reputa- 
tion would have made me avoid any criminal or scandalous 
irregularity ; but can I flatter myself that I have acquired 
any solid virtue? On the contrary into what faults have 
not my dissipation and levity plunged my soul. How have 
I acquitted myself of my spiritual exercises? Through 
what spirit have I fulfilled my duties. What has been my 
fervor in frequenting the sacraments? What profit have I 
drawn from them ? Have I advanced iu the way of perfec- 
tion ? Alas ! Of how many merits have I deprived myself ? 
How many treasures I might have accumulated ! What per- 
fection might I not have acquired, had I listened to Thy in- 
spirations, O Lord, and followed them ! But, because I have 
been attentive only to that which strikes the senses, I have 
lost the life of love. Instead of watching over myself, and 
concentrating myself in Thee, that 1 might enjoy the 
anticipated happiness which is fouud in recollection, and in 
the exercise of Thy presence, I have sought vain amuse- 
ments and noisy diversions iu which I poured out my heart. 
I have indulged in foolish and irregular joy which dissipated 
my mind. I have formed ties of friendship, which attached 
me to creatures, and entirely occupied me witn them. I 
have given myself up to desires which agitated and divided 
my heart, to passions that altered and troubled my soul j 
to useless conversations that filled my imagination with 
trifles ; to superfluous cares, which embarrassed me ; to 
occupations, in which I voluntarily engaged, that caused 
me a thousand subjects of distraction. Ah ! if I had 



186 THE INTERIOR LIFE. 

contented myself with Thee, my God ! occupied myself 
only with Thee ; concentrated myself in Thee, and limited 
my desires to Thee, what sweetness, repose, and happiness 
I would now enjoy in my holy retirement ! Far from 
applying myself to enjoy so rich a treasure, I have counted 
every moment that I am alone with Thee or with myself. 
To relieve my weariness I have yielded to idle and useless 
thoughts ; have occupied myself with frivolous reading ; 
I have sought my consolation in the visits of seculars or 
in entertainments forbidden by my rule. I have called to 
nry assistance all created objects ; I have given myself up 
to the dissipation of all my faculties. But Thou, O my 
God, didst oppose this by Thy inspirations and graces. 
What have I found but remorse and trouble of conscience? 
I have lost the relish for Thy divine communications. O 
heavenly Spouse of my soul ! how unfaithful have I been 
to Thee ; but I still hope in Thy mercies. Thou inspirest 
me with the desire, and I return to Thee. Preserve me 
from a new inconstancy in the practice of the interior life, 
which I resolve henceforth to lead, with the assistance of 
Thy grace. Yes, Lord I will concentrate myself with Thee 
in my own heart, Thou wilt be the sole confidant of my 
thoughts, the object of all my desires, the term of all my 
affections, my relaxation, my occupation, my food, my 
life, my all, — my God hidden with me in solitude, with 
Whom my retreat is much better than all created goods. 
Thou alone, will fill my heart in possessing it. 

I will unceasingly remember that Thouregardest me ; that 
Thou art above me by authority ; within me b} 7 immensity ; 
around me by Thy providence ; that Thou nearest all I say ; 
that Thou seest all I do; knowest all I think and feel ; 
that Thou art in me more than I am in myself ; and I will act 
so that Thou mayest be there by Thy grace and love, as 
Thou art there by Thy presence. Can I, then, forget Thee, 
O my God ! Thee who never forgettest me ! Can I ever 
voluntarily distract myself from Thee, without feeling the 
injustice and ingratitude of my distraction ? Can I turn my 
thoughts and eyes on creatures, whilst Thou hast Thy eyes 
incessantly fixed on me, and I know that it is Thy glance 
which animates and supports me ? By Thy absence, Lord ! or 
rather by my voluntary withdrawal from Thee, I have felt 



THE IXTERIQR LIFE. 187 

only languor, darkness, bitterness, and disorder. By Thy 
presence, or rather by my attention to Thy presence, all 
becomes light to my mind, ardor in my heart, regularity in 
my soul. Occupied only in seeking Thee I will constantly 
attract Thee to me ; I will possess Thee without interrup- 
tion by my attention and respect in listening to Thee ; I 
will retain Thee by my fidelity in following Thee. Crea- 
ted objects will no longer dissipate me ; intercourse with 
the world will no longer withdraw me from Thee ; my light- 
ness and inconstancy will be changed ; these distractions, 
caused by my tepidity, will be withdrawn ; they will no 
longer occupy in my mind and heart, the place which 
belongs to Thee alone ; on the contrary all will remind me 
of Thee, and I will see all in Thee. Thou wilt be to me 
the source of all good, the principle of true happiness, and 
the centre of the most delightful pleasure. 

Even by my least actions I will animate my love and purity 
of intention ; then by Thy mercy they will become great 
in Thy eyes. I will pass from prayer to labor, and from 
labor to prayer. My occupations will be regulated by 
obedience, by my rule, and by the necessity of doing 
penance. I will labor to imitate Thee, O divine Model, 
to acquire the spirit of my state and fulfil its duties. 

I will apply myself to increase in the interior life and to 
become from day to day more and more humble, more 
charitable, more mortified, more regular, more recollected ; 
in a word, more solidly virtuous. 

I will, above all, endeavor to sanctify my actions by 
ardent and frequent elevations of my heart to Thee, Lord ! 
I will continually raise my hand towards Thy throne, to 
draw to myself Thy assistance and Thy grace. In a 
word I will imitate Thy solitude. O my God ! it will be 
the rule of my interior solitude. Thou hast been in 
Thyself before all ages, and Thou wilt remain there during 
all eternity ; Thou dwellest in right inaccessible. There is, 
then, an infinite distance between Thee and creatures. 
Thou governest the universe ; Thou dost communicate and 
unite Thyself intimately to us ; Thou remainest in the midst 
of us, but all this without interrupting Thy solitude, 
without losing anything of Thy repose, without turning 
for a moment from the contemplation of Thy adorable 



188 ON glLEtfCE. 

perfections and love. Willi the assistance of Thy grace, I 
will imitate Thee, as much as it is possible for the creature, 
b} T withdrawing from created objects ; in making use of 
visible things only to rise to the invisible ; despoiling myself 
of all gratification of my senses ; raising my thoughts to 
Thee, applying myself continually to contemplate and love 
Thee. 

Strengthen me in these holy resolutions, Lord ! grant that 
I may increase in the interior and supernatural life ; that 
I may be disengaged from all useless cares and disquietude ; 
that I may never permit myself to be carried away, by 
the desire of anything vile or precious ; but that I may 
look on all things of the world as passing, and myself as 
passing with them, to be lost in Thee. 



SEVENTH DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION. — ON SILENCE. 

First Point. 

" A wise man will hold his peace till he sees opportunity; but a 
babbler and a fool will regard no time." — Eccles. xx., 7. 

The characteristic of a wise person and especially of a 
religious, is to speak little. Occupied with divine and 
heavenly things, she no longer thinks of those of the earth. 
Engaged in habitual conversations with God, she has no 
desire to entertain herself with creatures. ' ; The greatest 
assistance she can have," says St. Francis of Sales, " is 
to keep herself in the presence of God, and nothing con- 
tributes so much to this as silence." " In this a 
Religious of the Visitation should be very exact, remem- 
bering that this practice was instituted not only, to avoid 
the faults that are committed by the tongue, but also to 
preserve recollection by the retrenchment of useless 
thoughts. The dissipation of mind caused by useless 
thoughts would unfit her for conversing with her divine 
Spouse, as she should continually do, that she may 



ON SILENCE. 189 

gain new strength, to become more and more capable of 
laboring in His divine service." " Every Daughter of the 
Institute," continues our holy Founder, "should have a 
particular love for silence, and be very careful to keep it 
on account of the great advantages which are drawn from 
it. Its utility is so great, that to regulate a monastery, it 
is enough to establish silence in it ; and to introduce 
laxity, it is sufficient to take away silence." 

A sure mark by which it may be known if a community 
is fervent and regular is the facility and fidelity with 
which silence is observed ; and by a necessary conse- 
quence, the most edifying and fervent religious in the 
house are those who keep silence most exactly in the 
times and places prescribed by the rule. St. Francis of 
Sales says, that a sister of the Visitation, who is habitually 
unfaithful to this practice, will never attain the perfection 
of her state. Because, to become perfect, it is necessary 
for her to be interiorly recollected. She must listen to 
God and follow His divine inspirations, and this is incom- 
patible with the dissipation which usually follows 
the habitual breaking of silence. This dissipation will 
make her lose, by degrees, a relish for God. It will 
insensibly cause her to abandon her rules, her exercises, 
her practices of piety, so that she will at last retain 
scarcely anything of the religious except the habit. All the 
masters of the spiritual life have looked upon silence as 
the soul of the monastic observance. They say, that it 
gives life, strength, and motion to fervor. They call it 
the guardian of innocence, the father of devotion, the 
master of the interior life, the joy of the heart, the 
strength of the soul, the rule of manners, the bridle of the 
passions, the rampart against temptations, the key of 
religion, the gate of salvation, the principal pillar of the 
temple of the Lord, the way to heaven. Do the dead 
speak? says one among them. Are they seen coming 
from their tombs to converse with creatures? They rest 
in a profound silence in their lowly sepulchres. Is not a 
religious by her engagements in a state of death? Is not 
the cloister her tomb, and should she not rest there in 
peace in the bosom of the Lord, and keep a profound 
silence ? Or, if she makes some use of her tongue, it should 



190 ON SILENCE. 

be only to speak of God, and sing His praises ; to converse 
with our Lord, or with His saints. Dead to the world 
and its vanities, she should no longer entertain any com- 
merce with mortal men, who are for her, people of the 
other world. 

" Every thing requires silence of her," saj^s another 
Father, God, her own interests, and those of her neighbor. 
God demands it, because she cannot worthily honor the 
infinite grandeur of His majesty, but by keeping herself 
in His presence, in a respectful and silent recollection. 
She cannot listen as she ought to the oracles of His 
wisdom, but by closing her eyes to created things, and 
her ears to conversation with creatures. She must remain 
dumb, as it were, at the foot of His throne, like a criminal 
convicted of her own crimes and loaded with those of the 
world, consequent!}* filled with fear, penetrated with 
sorrow and covered with confusion. Her interests require 
it, as it is absolutely essential to preserve her from sin 
and advance her in the path- of justice, which she cannot 
do without silence. The interests of her neighbor require 
it, because by her silence she prevents a thousand causes of 
chagrin that might arise from her discourses, and shelters 
her neighbors from an infinity of faults caused by speaking. 

St. Francis of Sales says, that silence should not be 
kept through melancholy, chagrin, or humor. It should 
not be a stupid silence, which would keep her in a sad and 
gloomy idleness. But it should be a religious silence ; 
fervent and zealous for the glory of God, regulated by 
piety and reason, spiritual and divine. It should be for 
her a means of applying herself to heavenly things, of 
conversing more intimately with her Creator, of uniting 
herself more closely with her God. Otherwise, she would 
profane a holy practice, and would commit a sin for 
which she must render an account at the last day. True 
silence should have God only for its principle and end. 
It should be observed only through a motive of pleasing 
Him. Its effects should be not only to repress the tongue, 
and keep it from useless discourses. It should so regulate 
the tongue, that when she is obliged to speak, she would 
do so with discretion. Such is the spirit of St. Francis 
of Sales, and St. Chantal, 



ON SILENCE. 191 

li The love of silence," says our holy Founder, "should 
be such, that a daughter of the Visitation should go to the 
parlor only through necessity, and she should remain there 
as short a time as she can. She should watch over her- 
self when there, more than in any other place, retrenching 
all useless words, and avoiding long conversations, even 
with spiritual persons ; because many superfluous and 
useless things always glide in, which are ever dangerous, 
and the least inconvenience is the loss of time." " This 
retrenching of all useless conversations and words," says 
he, is so important, that although the Superioress cannot 
avoid speaking more than the others, she should serve as 
an example on this point, as upon all the rest. Nor is it 
permitted for any religious to speak to her in times of 
silence, except for things really necessary ; although she 
should be the resource of all the sisters, and each one is 
obliged to look upon her as a mother and as the interpre- 
ter of the will of God." " Jesus Christ alone," says St. 
Chantal, "should be the delight and entertainment of a 
true daughter of our Institute. If her silence be bioken, 
it should be only to speak of Him, of what He has done 
and suffered for us, of the viitues He has taught us, and 
which were so perfectly practised by His blessed Mother, 
by the apostles, and all the other saints. If she finds 
herself obliged to speak of other things, she should 
always do it with regret, and use all the discretion and 
circumspection which have been so recommended to her. 
Above all, she should abstain from everything that could 
wound her neighbor, from every unbecoming word, from 
all incivility and raillery. She should avoid bursts of 
laughter, the gestures and manners of the world, and 
everything that denotes any sort of levity. Finally, she 
should avoid everything that is not suitable for a state that 
obliges her to render her conversation altogether pure and 
angelic. She should carefully avoid speaking of herself, as 
it cannot be done without some emotion of pride and self- 
love." Such are the maxims of our holy founders. To 
reduce them to practice, here are, according to them, the 
principal rules which a true Religious of the Visitation 
should observe. 

First. Never to wilfully break silence in the times in 



192 ON SILENCE. 

which it is prescribed. To receive no visits, but such as 
are absolutely necessary. To converse with others only 
when charity or the rule requires it. 

Second. When obedience or a lawful reason, approved by 
the Superior, requires her presence in the parlor, to 
invoke the Holy Spirit before going there. 

Third. When in the parlor and elsewhere, to speak little 
and only what is necessary. 

Fourth. To weigh all she says, that she may utter no 
word which may displease God or be contrary to her 
obligations ; to place, so to say, all her words in the 
scales of the judgment of God before pronouncing them. 

Fifth. To speak so usefully that what she may say will 
be better than silence. 

Sixth. To speak with simplicity, avoiding all the affected 
manners of the world ; with humility, uttering no word 
that savors of pride ; with meekness, never saying any- 
thing harsh, offensive, or disobliging ; with truth, avoiding 
falsehoods, exaggerations, and equivocations; with re- 
serve, repressing all eagerness, and interrupting no one ; 
with religious modesty, avoiding all levity, precipitation, 
and gesticulations, speaking in a manner that edifies, and 
in a moderate tone of voice. 



Second Point. 

I perceive, O my God, that one of the principal studies 
of a religious soul should be that of silence ; and that if 
in the schools of the world we learn to speak, in that of 
religion we should learn to be silent. Ah ! I have a 
thousand times myself experienced, that an hour of 
silence spent with Thee is worth more than all conversa- 
tions with creatures. I have always come from useless 
conversation with my heart empty, my mind dissipated, 
and my soul in desolation ; whereas, 1 have always come 
from silence with a heart filled with sweetness and conso- 
lation. Ah ! how many faults 1 would have avoided , 
if I had always been exact in keeping this essential part 
of my rule ! How many discourses of vanity, how many 
murmurs, falsehoods, and detractions J would have 



ON SILENCE. 193 

avoided ! I would now be more recollected, more interior, 
and more fit for mental prayer. But, by my curiosity to 
hear and my eagerness to speak, my imagination has 
been dried up ; I have lost fidelity to grace, recollection, 
unction, interior strength, exactitude in the observance of 
the rule, and the relish for God and spiritual things. What 
completes my unhappy state is, that although convinced 
of the importance of silence, I have persisted in paying 
but little attention to it, that I might not give way to those 
scruples, which I have often despised in others. What a 
rigorous account wilt Thou demand of me for so many faults, 
O my God, since Thou wilt judge even the idle words of the 
simple faithful. What bad example have I not given, what 
relaxation have I not produced, by so many infractions of 
my rule ! How many virtues, at least neglected ; how 
many merits lost ! Into what dissipation have I not fallen, 
under pretext of necessity of a little relaxation, of infirm- 
ity, of sadness, of languor, of dejection, of innocent 
amusement, of openness of heart ! My eagerness to speak 
and my curiosity to know, have made me forget the respect 
T owe Thee, Lord, even at the foot of Thy Altar. Have I 
not thereby often lost the fruit of my prayers and com- 
munions? 

Oh ! how many vices are cut off by silence and how 
many virtues it causes to be practised ! Grant me, O my 
God, this gift which contains so many others. Place a 
guard upon my mouth, and a bridle upon my lips. Be 
with me when Thou obligest me to be with the world. I 
will avoid that world as much as I can. The ease with 
which I gave myself to it has cost me too much. But when 
there by Thy orders, let me be there under Thy protection. 
Fill me with Thy Spirit, that the spirit of the world may 
have no hold on me. Yes, Lord, when there I will not 
lose sight of Thee, my mind and my heart will turn in- 
cessantly towards Thee. I will avoid, according to the 
advice of my holy founders, conversations too long and 
too frequent; frivolous, vain, useless entertainments, 
incompatible with regularity and recollection, in which 
if there be no evil, all is at least too dissipating, too 
sensual. I will cease all those of which curiosity and 
worldly news are the soul ; wherein familiarity insensi- 
13 



194 ON SILENCE. 

bly glides, mutual respect is lost ; or in which I permit 
myself too affectionate demonstrations, indiscreet words, 
or too great outpouring of the heart. 1 will sanctify the 
conversations and visits required by propriety, duty, 
charge or employment. I will limit strictly my enter- 
tainments with my directors ; the serious things, of which 
alone I should speak to them, do not always require long 
discourses. In the parlor and even in the communit}*, I 
will take care to turn without affectation the conversa- 
tion on spiritual matters, to draw from all that presents 
itself an occasion to speak of God. If those to whom I 
speak are edified, God will be glorified ; if my pious dis- 
courses fatigue them, they will leave me, and I will lose 
less time. I will moderate my desires for worldly news, 
and if I learn it without having sought it, I will abstain 
from repeating it. I will limit my visits, and retire 
when duty calls me, or when piety, propriety, religion, 
or charity ma\ T suffer from the conversation. I will not 
fear to be impolite before the world ; on the contrary it 
will be a subject of edification. In all my communications 
with creatures, I w T ill remember that I am a religious ; then 
I shall always appear as a religious. I shall speak as a 
religious, shall conduct myself as such, so that Jesus 
Christ, my divine Spouse, will not refuse to acknowledge 
me or have cause to blush for me. To say all in a word, 
in all my conversations I will speak only appropriately, 
after having weighed my words ; I will say nothing, hear 
nothing, but what reason, conscience and religion permit. 
I w 7 ill affect no singularity in my ideas, expressions, or 
manners ; no obstinacy in my sentiments and pretentions. 
I will respect virtue, discredit vice, support innocence, 
excuse the guilty, spare the absent, detest detractors, 
honor my state, repress liberty, confound calumny, hate 
dissimulation, avoid censure and railleries, banish equivo- 
cation, self-sufficiency and malicious pleasantry ; blush at 
praise, support injuries, preserve, even in speaking, 
a deep and sincere love for silence ; finally, I will edify 
everyone, and entertain myself with God in communi- 
cating with creatures. 

Support, O Lord, these resolutions, with the assistance 
of Thy grace. Thou alone, says the prophet, canst stop 



ON EXACT OBSERVANCE. 195 

and guide my tongue. Graut that I may see the world 
only in TI13 7 Spirit, and that in my entertainments with it 
I may not forget what 1 owe Thee and what I owe myself. 
Fill my heart with Thy love, that I may think of Thee 
alone, speak of Thee, and to Thee ; in a word, let all my 
conversations be heavenly and angelic. 



SEVENTH DAY. 

ENTERTAINMENT. ON EXACT OBSERVANCE. 

" Whoever therefore shall break one of these least command- 
ments ..... he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of 
Heaven." — Matt, v., 19. 

" My dear daughters," says St. Chantal, "always re- 
member the sentence pronounced by Eternal Wisdom," 
' He who shall break one of these least commandments, 
and shall teach others to do the same, shall be looked up- 
on as the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.' Make no 
difference, therefore, in the practices. Observe them all 
to the letter and without distinction, and be assured that 
this fidelity to observances which appear the least and 
most ordinal} 7 , is the most pleasing to God, and draws 
down His greatest graces." 

Everything will appear great and sublime to a religious 
in the observance of her rule, if she considers the prin- 
ciple whence they proceed, her sanctifi' ation to which 
they contribute, and the eternal reward which is attached 
to them. 

In their principle they have the Holy Ghost for their 
author ; it was He who inspired them to her holy found- 
ers. They are authentic proofs of the authority and 
power of God over her; inventions of His wisdom, which 
traced them out for her, as safe ways to conduct her to 
her last end ; testimonies of His goodness which gave 
them to her, to dispose her to receive His graces ; effects 
of His love which prescribed them to her, as so many 
bonds to attach and unite her more closely to Him ; 



196 ON EXACT OBSERVANCE. 

effusions of His sanctity which has grauted them to her, 
as means singularly calculated to sanctify her ; in fine, 
they are instruments which His Providence makes use of 
to accomplish in her His eternal designs, and to elevate 
her to the degree of glory which He has prepared for her 
in heaven. This religious soul, therefore, cannot infringe 
upon those observances, without outraging all the divine per- 
fections. Can she resist what the spirit of God has dic- 
tated, without renouncing this holy spirit? Can she reject 
what His wisdom has established, without contradicting 
His wisdom? Can she despise what is an effusion of His 
grace and an efficacious means of becoming holy, without 
attacking His sanctity? Finallj', can she refuse to sub- 
mit to rules, which are for her the orders, the language, 
and the virtues of her Creator, without revolting against 

7 o o 

His power? Besides, these rules contain nothing but 
what is most perfect and pure in the holy Scriptures. 
From that source they derive all their strength, all their 
energy, all their unction, and all their authority. It is 
from the precepts and counsels of Jesus Christ, the first 
founder of all religious orders, that they have been taken. 
Her holy founders have been but His organs. They 
were but creatures, and might have been mistaken, but the 
authentic approbation which the Church, by the voice of 
her pontiffs, has given to their constitutions, is the seal 
of the divine authority. Therefore, she cin no longer 
doubt that the will of God is clearly and certainly mani- 
fested for her. To transgress them, is to attack God 
Himself, Who is their author, the Church who has approved 
them, and her holy founders, who are their organs. 
They traced them out at the foot of the Cross, wrote them 
after invoking God, and published them after immense 
labors. The divine Spirit and heavenly unction are per- 
ceived in them. Everything is forseen, everything is 
wise, everything is proper, everything tends to perfection. 
They bear the stamp of the power and authority of God ; 
are a ray of His beauty and wisdom, and proceed from 
Him, as they conduct to Him. They fill the soul who 
studies them and forms herself by them with sweetness 
and consolation ; they elevate, sanctify and spiritualize 
her. It is true, that they contradict the senses and combat 



OX EXACT OBSERVANCE. 1 97 

effeminacy, but this }-oke is that of Jesus Christ. It has 
nothing painful for love ; it is hard and bitter only for 
the sensual soul. So, the* unfaithful soul seeks to throw 
off the burden under vain pretexts. She often alleges 
that its observances do not oblige under pain of sin. 
" But," St. Francis of Sales says, " there are a great 
many of her rules which she cannot transgress without 
becoming guilty of mortal, or at least of venial sin, and 
the transgression of the others is an infidelit}* if not 
a sin, and leads eventually to sin. That which is in the 
rule in form of precept, and which is of divine precept, 
obliges under pain of sin. That which is ordered as being 
essential to her profession, and which regards her vows, 
obliges under pain of sin. That which, is indifferen t of itself, 
if transgressed through contempt, is at least a venial 
sin. If it be through negligence, and not through contempt, 
through passion, self-love, disobedience or indifference, 
she ought to confess it as a venial sin. And if this fault 
be often repeated, it is more grievous ; for this reiteration 
is a disposition to sin. That which is in her rule, not as 
of precept, but as of counsel, warning, direction, advice, 
does not oblige her in conscience, but infidelity on this point 
leads to sin. She does not sin precisely, because she does an 
action that is contrary to her constitutions, but, because in 
the practice, it never happens, perhaps, tha\ this action is 
exempt from venial sin ; because this transgression is always 
accompanied by circumstances which render her guilty, 
such as scandalizing the community, introducing relax- 
ation, doing wrong to religion, resisting divine inspiration, 
quitting th^ ways of God and not corresponding to His 
designs." 

St. Francis of Sales adds, " that although the constitu- 
tions do not bind the Religious of the Visitation under sin, 
venial or mortal, inasmuch as they are only for direction ; 
nevertheless, she is not guiltless, who by violating them 
dishonors the things of God. and dissipates the fruits of 
good example which she should give her neighbor. 
These rules, besides, although of simple direction, and 
pure counsel, have God for their author and a religious 
cannot neglect them without sin. Can the religious soul, 
without sin, neglect the counsels which the God of majesty 



198 ON EXACT OBSERVANCE. 

has given her, and which in themselves, are holy, wise and 
useful. 

Has she not promised God, not only at her profession, 
but many other times in confession, communion, and 
prayer, to keep her rules in all their integrity ; can she then 
violate them all or in part, and thus fail in her promises 
without any sin? Has not God a right to say to her: 
Did you not agree with Me that you would keep your 
observances, which are the bonds of the alliance I con- 
tracted with you? Cannot religion make her the same 
reproach, saying to her : Did you not promise, when I 
received you among my children, that you would observe 
my laws? Without this promise I never would have 
received you. 

Can we resist the will of God, despise His graces, His 
inspirations, frustrate His designs, and neglect the means 
of sanctification without sinning? Now, a Religious does 
all this by violating her rule. By introducing relaxation 
into Religion by her transgressions, she destroys its most 
precious treasure, which is the vigor of observance. Is 
it not a sin to scandalize one's neighbors ; can she trans- 
gress her rules without scandalizing her sisters? Can she 
act through passion without offending God? Can she 
deny that it is passion winch causes her deliberately to 
transgress her rules? Can she act contrary to good order 
without disorder? Can she do without sin that which 
leads to the transgression of the vows? The trans- 
gression of the rules leads to the transgression of the 
vows, according to St. Thomas. Often the only differ- 
ence between the transgression of the rules, and the 
transgression of the vows consists in more or less^ as from 
a lesser disobedience to a greater. Moreover, the trans- 
gression of the rules, committed with full deliberation, 
is necessarily an action good, or bad, or indifferent. We 
cannot say that it is a good action, for then it would please 
God and merit a reward in heaven : it is not even indifferent 
for it cannot be referred to God. What a contradiction it 
would be, to say : I am going, O Lord, in order to please 
Thee, to violate the laws Thou hast prescribed me. It must, 
consequently, be a bad action, and therefore, a sin. 
Besides, is it not a criminal hypocrisy to deceive the 



Otf Ex A Of oSsEtt VAJtrcE. 199 

public bj^a false show of piety? And does not a Religi- 
ous make the world believe that she lives according to the 
rule she has solemnly professed, and of which she wears 
the habit? If, however, she does not, is she not a hypocrite ? 

Where is the religious, we may add, who, having often 
violated her rules, even in things of little consequence, 
who, when she reenters into herself, does not feel re- 
morse of conscience and confess these things as sins? 
Where is the wise and enlightened confessor, who, hearing 
her accuse herself of her deliberate transgressions, tells her 
that in this she does nothing displeasing to God, that 
she can, with security of conscience, continue this infidelity 
which does not prejudice her salvation? Does he not, on 
the contrary, tell her that she is guilty, that she dis- 
pleases God ; that she will, by her infractions of the rule, 
oblige Him to withdraw His graces ; and that, from often 
violating her rules, she will come to violate her vows? 
Finally, does not God often punish the religious who is 
unfaithful to her rule, by troubles, aridities, interior re- 
morses ; by the subtraction of His consolations, his lights 
and helps, and by considerable faults into which He per- 
mits her to fall ? These transgressions must, therefore, 
be a very great evil, since God takes so severe a venge- 
ance upon them. But just as the infraction of the 
observances is prejudicial to an unfaithful religious, so 
is their observance salutary and meritorious to the 
faithful soul. It is the glory, the ornament, the riches, 
the strength, the beauty and the happiness of a true re- 
ligious. It communicates to her, says the holy Scripture, 
true prudence, true greatness of soul ; it promises her 
the delights of heaven and immortal crowns. It unites 
her, so closely to Jesus Christ, that it makes her become 
His sanctuary, and the instrument of His glory. 

What a happiness ! and how easy it is for a daughter 
of St. Francis of Sales to attain it ! Nothing difficult or 
extraordinary is asked of her. Perhaps the weight of the 
yoke supplies pretexts for her tepidity ; but the only law 
imposed on her is exactitude to the observances. She 
is called upon to practise none of the watching3, fasts, 
disciplines, long offices, and the thousand other practices 
dreadful to nature, which are used in many religious 



200 ON EXACT OBSERVANCE. 

orders. On the contrary, her rule is mild, proportioned to 
human infirmity, and the weak are as capable of fulfilling 
it, as the strong. The spirit of discretion which dictated 
it judged, that the lighter the burden, the less those upon 
whom it was imposed, would seek to modify it ; that they 
would endeavor, on the contrary, to supply for greater 
sacrifices, by a greater exactitude and fidelity. This is 
the language of their noly founder. ki To be holy," says 
he, " you have only to keep your rules faithfully and 
nothing more. With them you will attain perfection and 
glory ; without this fidelity, were you to perform miracles, 
the Church would never number you among her children. 
And why? Because, in violating your observances you 
deviate from the perfection that is proper to you ; you 
fail in an essential obligation ; you neglect tbe sure and 
infallible means of attaining your last end, and, conse- 
quently, you abandon your last end itself, which is your 
salvation. " 

It is said by some, that the rule of the Visitation is, 
indeed, sweet in itself, but that nothing is more austere 
tLau its spirit. Its exercises appear of little importance, 
and this may cause them to be neglected ; the} T are alwa} T s 
the same, and this uniformity tires. They finish to-day 
to begin again to-morrow, and this continuance is fatigu- 
ing. They succeed each other without interruption, they 
fill up every moment; and this is looked upon as an 
overwhelming servitude. To remove at once these 
difficulties, very remote from the mind of a true Daughter 
of the Institute, it will be sufficient to propose the example 
of Jesus Christ, that perfect/ model of the religious life, 
from which we can never deviate, without being lost. 
Obedience to the laws of His Father was, as it were, the 
proper and peculiar spirit of our divine Saviour. How 
small and contemptible these laws might be in appear- 
ance ; how painful and difficult they might be in effect ; 
how little soever they might oblige, He accomplished them 
all with equal respect. From His crio to His cross, in all 
circumstances of His mortal life, He observed the time, the 
place, the manner, the circumstances of the precept as 
well as the precept itself. He kept the whole law to an 
iota. He fulfilled the great things, and never neglected 



Otf EXACT OBSERVANCE. 201 

the small. What reasons caused Him to act thus ? The 
same that should determine the actiou of a religious soul, 
viz. : 

First. Nothing is little, when it is God who orders it. 
His will renders everything important. In these words, 
u Behold what the Lord says to you," Jesus Christ dis- 
covered a motive of full and entire submission. A re- 
ligious should do the* same. The splendor of divine 
authority should eclipse every reason of independence. 
Whether God speaks to her immediately, or by the voice 
of her superiors, or by her rule, it matters little ; it is 
enough that He speaks. Subordination requires that she 
be submissive in everything to Him no matter what He 
commands or wills. God is certainly good in not giving 
her absolute commands for that which is most perfect, 
and for not attaching the same chastisement to an 
infraction of the least rules as to the greatest. But should 
not this stimulate her generosity towards Him, and lead her 
to spare herself so much the less as He spares her more? 
Do not reason and gratitude require this of her? 

Second. Does she not make the observance of little things 
great, by practising them with great love? Men usually 
make little account of small services that are rendered 
them, because they are not very useful to them, neither do 
they see the heart aud the desire that is within it of giving 
them pleasure. But God, Who on the one hand, has need 
of nothing, Who knows the good will we have for Him, 
judges very differently. We always please Him, in 
proportion to the desire we have of pleasing Him. In 
this disposition, the religious has even the merit of all 
the good actions which she does not perform ; whereas, she 
who voluntarily neglects little things, exposes herself to 
lose the merit of the great and difficult things she may 
perform. 

Third. Great occasions of testifying our love for God 
rarely present themselves, whereas, little ones are con- 
stantly recurring. What a motive for a true religious to 
be faithful, especially in little things. 

Fourth. By being faithful to the least observances, she 
may be looked upon as weak-minded or scrupulous, but it 
is great to rise above all human respect. 



202 ON EXACT OBSERVANCE. 

Fifth. St. Francis of Sales says, that little things are the 
guard of great duties. Besides, a greater degree of grace 
and glory is always the reward of a greater exactitude in 
the least observances. In fine there never can be any 
littleness in imitating Jesus Christ. He had powerful 
reasons for doing all that He did. We must, therefore, 
imitate Him without examining reasons. He obeyed the 
laws, however unimportant they might appear. A re- 
ligious should then obey blindty, after His example, as 
He did, and for the love of Him. 

She should employ the greatness of her mind, not in 
reasoning on her obligations and in makiug them, by her 
subtilities, almost nothing, but in seeking eacn day, new 
motives to render her duties precious and venerable. She 
will become great in virtue ouly by neglecting nothing 
that is little. Her predestination, perfection and salvation 
are, perhaps, attached to this trifle which she knows not, 
and which she cannot discern from the rest. 

My observances, you say, are painful and difficult by 
their continuation. That is to say everything is an 
obstacle for an unfaithful soul. She violates her lesser 
duties through a pretended strength of mind, and 
the greater, through lack of courage. She believes her- 
self too far above the one, and too much beneath the 
other. Sue wishes to do only what is of consequence, 
provided it is easy ; or rather she wishes to do nothing, 
or almost nothing for Jesus Christ, Who did everything for 
her when there was question of meriting her salvation. 
Whence comes such baseness in this soul? Can she 
distrust grace, and fear that/God will fail her, when it is 
He who commands? He has given her His own example, 
which cost Him so much, because He judged it necessary, 
to keep her in the practice of good ; will He then refuse 
her the grace which she needs, and without which she can 
do nothing? A little fidelit} T and mountains will be 
removed from her path. 

The rules should be kept, no matter how little they seem 
to oblige. Jesus Christ was not obliged to one thing 
more than to another ; but the glory of God and the will 
of His Father always held the place of precept. Let 
there be no excuses, no dispensations from the letter 



ON EXACT OBSERVANCE. 203 

of the rule for a Daughter of the Visitation. She is 
indeed far from perfection, she has not even made the 
first advance towards it, and surely she will never reach 
it, whilst she distinguishes counsel from precept. Besides, 
she will often be deceived. Nor is it possible that she 
meet any other fate ; infidelity and reserve always merit 
the coldness of God. And where would she be if Jesus 
Christ had done only what He was obliged to do? What 
did He strictly owe her, or what would become of her, if 
now, He only gave her the graces He owes her? This 
He may do, even if He sees her seeking so many exemp- 
tions, modifications, reliefs, and dispensations. 

Let her, then, apply herself to tighten her chaius 
rather than to loose them. It is slavery to serve only 
when commanded. Let her rejoice that the law leaves 
something to her generosit} T and free will. The Rule, she 
says, does not oblige under pain of sin. For tliat very 
reason she should endeavor to keep it better. Her supe- 
rior does not see her ; she may commit faults with impunity, 
therefore, she should restrain herself the more. God 
sees her, and she should delight in being faithful to Him, 
when she has only His eye for her witness. She should 
even regret that her fidelity draws on her such great 
rewards, and that she cannot say, that she serves God tor 
God alone. Finally, she should always observe this 
precious maxim of her holy foundress : ■• Have much at 
heart, punctuality in the observance. But this punctu- 
ality should be gay, affectionate, unrestrained, proceeding 
from the interior. Observe your rules through divine 
love ; let it be through love that you keep silence, that 
you receive humiliations, that you are careful in the 
observance, that you do not omit a point. In a word, let 
divine love be in everything, your motive and aim." 



204 ON HUMILITY OF HEART. 

EIGHTH DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. — ON HUMILITY OF HEART. 

First Point. 

" Learn of Me because I am meek and humble of Heart." — St. 
Matt, xi., 29. 

" It is this humility, my dear daughters," says St. 
Francis of Sales, " which forms religious discipline. It 
is the foundation of the spiritual edifice, and the infallible 
mark of the children of Jesus Christ. Therefore, you 
should pay particular attention to it, performing all your 
actions in a spirit of profound, sincere and unfeigned 
humility. This virtue well practised will lead you to the 
exercise of a humility unknown to the vulgar, and you will 
become so low in your nothingness as to disappear from 
your own eyes, as well as from those of the world. It is 
so much your spirit to seek lowliness, and to shun all 
display, that, if you were to fail in this, you would lose 
your treasure and be no longer Daughters of the Visitation. 
Your congregation will produce its branches and fruit, 
only in proportion as its root will be sunk in the love 
of lowliness and abjection. Walk, therefore, generously 
through these low valleys, gathering at the foot of the 
Cross this love of humility, since God esteemed it so much, 
that He left for a time the exercise of royalty, humbling 
Himself to the opprobrium ot the Cross, to teach us to 
practice the evangelical maxims, and you, in particular, 
those of your Institute. If you can be useful to His glory, 
laboring at any work whatever, even in creating other 
congregations of servants of God, without ever establish- 
ing yourselves, you would only be more agreeable to His 
divine Majesty, practising by this means humility in a 
sovereign degree." 

What can be added to these words of our holy founder, 
that true apostle of humility ? They are words which should 
be deeply engraven on the hearts of his daughters. In these 
maxims, which are so many oracles of the Holy Ghost, a 



ON HIGHLIT Y OF HEART. 205 

Religious of the Visitation can but remark, that the virtue 
of humility which is required of her consists not simply in 
acknowledgiug before God that she is nothing, that she 
has nothing but poverty and misery, that she can do 
nothing but sin. But she must also have an habitual view 
of her baseness, she must take pleasure in it, despising 
herself interiorly, being in a continual disposition of con- 
fusion in her own eyes, being delighted Jo see that she is 
nothing of herself, and that God is everything. She must 
seek for, and even wish others to entertain the same senti- 
ments of her nothingness, and to despise her interiorly. 
Knowing herself to be uuworthy of their esteem, far from 
seeking it, or wishing for it, she should reject it as an in- 
justice, desiring that all glory be referred to God, because 
He alone deserves to be loved, praised, and glorified. 
Moreover, she should desire, that all men act in her regard 
conformably to their sentiments, and that, despising her 
interiorly, they testify their coutempt by their actions, 
that they humble her, that they cover her with contempt 
and opprobrium. Far from being afflicted at this, she 
should rejoice that justice is done her, and that she is treat- 
ed as she deserves. She should receive humiliations with 
real joy, not only because they are more proper for her, 
but also because they furnish her with the means of 
testifying to God her love, by sacrificing to Him those 
things dearest to her, her glory and honor. But above 
all, she should rejoice at humiliations, because they make 
her conformable to Jesus Christ, humbled and contemned, 
in which things a true Daughter of the Visitation finds all 
her happiness. 

How exalted, how sublime, how perfect is the idea of 
such profound humility ! Is not a Daughter of St. Francis 
of Sales called to the highest perfection of humility by 
being required to do all things in a spirit of profound and 
sincere humility? Does not her holy founder tell her to 
remember that all her splendor consists in having none? 
Does not her rule oblige her to keep herself in her little- 
ness? Do not her founders say to her: "You are 
called to the highest perfection that can be attained here 
below, for the very reason that your Institute obliges you 
to the most profound humility and the most perfect annihi- 



206 ON HUMILITY OF HEART. 

lation of self?" St. Chantal says, that the virtue of a 
Daughter of the Visitation consists in this, that when she 
is humbled, she humbles herself still more ; that when she 
is accused, she accuses herself still more ; that when she 
is employed in low things, she acknowledges that it is 
above her merits, that, when she is cast off, she rejoices 
at it. "A Daughter of the Visitation," she adds, " could 
not give a greater mark of incapacity, then to believe that 
she possesses talent. This is contrary to humility, 
which should make us consider ourselves useless servants, 
and if we knew the humility that God requires of a sister 
of the Visitation, and how those souls who exalt 
themselves and make a vain parade act directly contrary 
to the Spirit of God, we would ask that the fire of heaven 
might consume us. " Yes," continues our holy Mother, 
" we ought to be perfectly humble. The general of our 
order is humility. I would wish to engrave this maxim 
with my blood, and, if it be observed, the spirit of the 
Institute will be maintained in union and conformity. 
Would to God that the lips of the daughters of this con- 
gregation were pierced with a red-hot iron, and forever 
closed to the least word contrary to humility ! Nothing 
could be mora capable of shortening my days than to see 
vanity among them. Let us, therefore, I entreat you, my 
dear sisters, have at heart the practice of this holy humil- 
ity. Let us not rejoice at the favorable reception given 
to our Institute, but rather humble ourselves on account 
of it and glorify God. To be a true Daughter of Holy 
Mary is to despise honor, and esteem contempt. Without 
solid humility, there is nothing but the shadow of virtue. 
Blessed is the soul that humbles herself before God and 
accuses herself before creatures ! She will infallibly regain 
what she has lost by her fault. Humility of heart, sub- 
mission of will and judgment should be the foundation of 
our perfection ; this is our true spirit. These virtues are 
the life and soul of our order. Let not, then, a Daughter 
of the Visitation desire to be loved and esteemed by men ; 
let her regard herself as beneath all ; let her not be pained, 
but sincerely rejoice, when others are preferred to her. 
Let her desire, not her personal convenience, but the 
common good alone. Let her yield without difficulty to 



ON HUMILITY OF HEART. 207 

her equals and even to her inferiors. Let her rejoice to 
see herself blamed and disapproved, sincerely condemning 
herself, since there is always in all we do much imperfection. 
Let her love to be considered as useless in the monastery, 
and to be employed only in low things and humiliating 
offices. Let her never excuse herself in great or little 
things, always receiving well the admonitions given her 
and rejoicing at being accused, not only of her defects, 
but also of things of which she does not feel herself guilty. 
Let her suffer such things cheerfully in imitation of Jesus 
Christ, in the opprobriums and ignominies that He en- 
dured. Let her enter into the spirit of that profound 
humility, which made Him say, by the mouth of the 
prophet: 4 I am a worm and no man, the reproach of 
men and the outcast of the people.' In imitation of this 
great example, should not a religious seek to abase her- 
self continually? Ought not her only endeavor be to 
humble herself completely?" "It was for this reason," 
says our holy Foundress, " that our blessed Father has 
established in his Order the daily practice of the accusation 
of the faults and failings of His daughters, which should 
be inviolably observed. Yet this would be but illusion 
and hypocrisy, if each sister were not sincerely disposed to 
receive corrections, confusions, humiliations and other pain- 
ful things, not simply by way of trial or tribulation, sent by 
God, but as chastisements that she deserves for her sins, and 
remedies necessary to cure her pride, never desiring in 
this or in anything else, those privileges, which in some 
orders are given to the old sisters, but to which our holy 

Father had a great aversion" "A 

Daughter of the Institute should keep herself continually 
in this true and sincere humility of heart. When the 
world despises her, she should receive this contempt as 
most suitable to her state, and as a precious token of God's 
love for her, since he always regards with a favorable eye 
the soul who sincerely desires to be contemned by men. 
Humiliation willingly accepted is a most agreeable sacrifice 
to Him." . . . . . " Her principal care should be to 
humble and abase herself in every thing, without ever de- 
siring to appear or to excel, either in what relates to her- 
self personally, or to the community generally, keeping 



208 ON HUMILITY OF HEART. 

herself hidden in peace in the shadow of her own lowliness 
and abjection, wishing to appear only in this manner, or 
rather, not wishing to appear even in this way, finding 
her repose and happiness in the despising of herself, not 
forgetting that she is of the last order in the Church, antl 
that, being the least and most useless servant in the 
house of God, she should love to be regarded and 
treated conformably to what she is in reality." 

" She should," continues St. Francis of Sales, " be humble 
in mind and heart. Humble in mind, that is, she should 
see everywhere her poverty, misery and baseness, being 
intimately persuaded that she is of herself, but nothing- 
ness, — the nothingness of nature and of sin, the nothingness 
of weakness aud incapacity for good. Humble in heart, 
she should cherish her own abjection, willingly suffering to 
be forgotten, neglected, despised and abased, and what is 
still more insupportable to self-love, to be contemptible. 

She should, moreover, according to the 

principles of true humility, bear with herself, without sad- 
ness or discouragement, resting peacefully, sweetly and 
constantly, on the bosom of God, Who will not permit 
her to perform an action to attract praise, or to omit any 
through fear of being esteemed. The love of abjection is 
the root of peace nnd joy. True humility shuns offices, 
but it is not obstinate in refusing them ; it does not stop 
at its own unworthiness : whenever it sees the command, 
it is satisfied to be submissive to the will of God, and to 
undertake all that superiors direct." 

What perfection, what greatness, in these different pre- 
cepts of my holy founders ! /But have I practised them ? 

Second Point. 

I have renounced the pomp and glory of the world, the 
pride of life ; I am the Spouse of an humble God ; I wear 
the habit of humility ; but am I the more humble on that 
account? Have I less desire of being exalted? Am I less 
sensitive to the humiliations that happen to me? U'ss sen- 
sitive to the slightest scoldings? less jealous of certain 
preferences and distinctions. Does the spirit of humility 
vivify my works? animate my actions? Does not a fund 



ON HUMILITY OF HEART. 209 

of self-love taint my whole conduct? My pride, perhaps, 
is not a visible or gross pride, but am I not ruled by that 
more delicate and subtle pride, which consists sometimes 
in a sweet complacency in my own merit, in my talents, 
even in my apparent virtues ; sometimes in an interior 
contempt for others ; sometimes in a little remote view 
of 1113' own elevation, or of drawing to myself the esteem 
of creatures ? Do not a thousand thoughts of vanity creep 
even into the practice of humility? I abase, I despise 
myself and praise others, but do I not seek to draw glory 
from all these things ? How many times have I not art- 
fully drawn glory from little humiliations? blamed myself 
that I might be justified? censured my faults, that others 
might take my part? spoken badly of myself that others 
might speak well of me? Have I not ulteriorly preferred 
myself in virtue to the persons with whom I am associ- 
ated? Have I not rejoiced when their faults were known, 
that I might appear better in comparison with them? 
Have I not maliciouslj* told their faults to those who 
were unacquainted with them? Have I not taken 
vanity sometimes from my birth, sometimes from the 
wealth, offices, or alliances of my family? from the 
advantages I had in the world? from the distinction of 
persons who visited me? from my talents, employments, 
knowledge, or abilities? from my personal deportment, 
my mind and my merit? What is there in me so much to be 
appreciated ? VVhat is there in me that is not hateful and 
worthy of contempt even in my own eyes? JMj mind 
which so often leads me to the vain esteem of myself, 
whose productions I idolize, whose thoughts I so conceitedly 
prefer to those of others, is but ignorance, levity, error, 
and false prejudices ; it is full of darkness, yet dares to 
glory in a supposed light ! My body is but a mass of 
rottenness ; its origin is the slime of the earth, and its end 
is corruption and worms ! My heart is an abyss of misery, 
weakness, and contradiction ! My soul is torn by an infinity 
of passions; of which it is the slave. My conscience is 
burdened with a multitude of sins. My will is a blind power, 
having only a propensity to evil. All in me unites in 
saying : " Dust and ashes, vessel of infirmities, sinner, why 
do you glory in yourself ? Of what are you proud ? Subject 
14 



210 ON HUMILITY OF HEART. 

to sin by the natural weight of your nothingness, guilty of 
faults aud of innumerable and voluntary relapses ; already 
a thousand times condemned for your crimes to the eternal 
flames of hell, and, perhaps, on the point of being cast 
therein ; what should nourish pride and self-love in you? 
Does nothingness merit any thing, aud is not sin worthy 
of contempt, confusion and chastisement? If you could 
see yourself as you really are, if you could feel all 
the greatness of your wounds, sound their depths, discover 
the horrible stains and the misery to which your soul is 
reduced before God, instead of being vain, you could hardly 
support yourself, and without an extraordinary assistance 
from heaven, you would yield to despair. Your whole life 
has been, on the part of God but a constant flow of benefits, 
and on your side, a succession of revolts against Him ; a 
series of graces and of crimes. Perhaps, you have never 
performed a single action properly. The corruption of 
your nature and of your heart have been so great, that 
your best actions have been lost, owing to their many 
defects and imperfections. How, then, can you conceive 
sentiments of complacency in yourself? Should not 
whatever talents you may possess, far from exciting 
your vanity, call forth your tears for the abuse you have 
made of them? Besides, does not all the glory of them 
belong to God? True talents and qualifications are those 
of grace ; possessing them, do you not unceasingly abuse 
them? What reason, then, have you to be proud or to 
attribute any merit to yourself." 

Ah, Lord, I perceive with shame that I am only weakness 
and corruption in my body, /only darkness and ignorance 
in my soul. I am a compound of misery aud nothingness, 
yes, a proud, arrogant nothingness. I will labor to convince 
myself more and more of this truth, in order to humble 
and despise myself, and to suffer others to despise and 
humble me. I have hitherto thought that in humbling 
myself, or in suffering others to humble and despise me, 
I was doing a work of supererogation. I even thought it 
would be doing Thee an injur} 7 , O my divine Saviour, if I 
did not acknowledge Thy gifts in me, and let them be known 
and honored by others. How great was my error, O my 
God ! I detest it, and fully convinced that I deserve only 



ON HUMILITY OF HEART. 211 

contempt, opprobriums, and chastisements, I will look upon 
myself as the greatest sinner in the world. I will see in 
myself only my iniquities, in others only their virtues. 
Should I have more mind, more talent than my sisters, for 
this it is which has so often made me proud, I will say to 
myself that it is God who has distributed to each what He 
pleases. If they are better endowed, I should only be 
the more grateful. If my gifts are dangerous, I should be 
the more circumspect. I am sinful aud more sinful than 
others, and, for this reason, I should humble myself more 
than my sisters, and even be humbled by them, because God 
directs the instruments He is pleased to choose. He 
permits such things that I may acquit myself of my debts. 

The state that I have embraced is without doubt, the most 
perfect. But far from inspiring me with pride, it should 
cause me greater fear. "A married women," says St. 
Bernard, 'Ms inferior to a virgin, but a proud virgin is 
inferior to her who is humble in the married state." 
Virginity is laudable, but humility is necessary. One is 
a counsel, the other a command. I might have been saved 
without poverty, chastity and obedience, but I cannot be 
saved without humility. Moreover, without this virtue, it 
is impossible forme to accomplish 1113- vows, since humility 
is itself poverty of spirit, the guardian of my chastity and 
the faithful companion of my obedience. Besides, the 
peculiar characteristic of my institute is the most perfect 
humility. Therefore, I can render solid glory to God 
and sanctify myself only by the practice of this virtue. In 
vain would I wish to glorify God by laboring, suffering 
and even dying for His glory aud His name. My labors, 
sufferings, and death would be in His sight only new 
outrages, if not accompanied, enhanced, and purified by 
true humility. 

Enlighten me more and more, O my God, by Thy grace ! 
Divine model of a virtue which I have so little practised, 
do Thou inspire me with the resolutions which are necessary 
for me, and which, by Thy grace, I hope to keep. 

I will suffer all, and from all without complaining, 
justifying or excusing myself. Advice, contempt, correc- 
tion, offences real or pretended committed against me, I 
will look upon in the order of Thy Providence, as aids to 



212 ON HUMILIT Y OF HEAR T. 

humble myself. Shouldst Thou, Lord, make me a butt 
for the outrages of all creatures ; should Thou even cast 
me into hell, under the feet of the demons; all this I will 
consider too little, for my sins merit much more. 

I will no longer aspire to honors, esteem, or praise, 
because I do not merit them. I will embrace with good 
heart, contempt, confusion, and bad treatment, because I 
merit them, and because it is impossible for creatures to 
make me suffer all that is my due, since there can be no 
proportion between the enormity of my sins, which is 
infinite, and the pains which creatures can inflict, which are 
always finite. 

No matter what mind, talent, merit, address, perfection, 
or quality, I may possess, I will be far from esteeming or 
preferring myself to others, on this account. I will think 
of the terrible account I must render Thee, my God, for 
the bad use I have made of them, which will, perhaps, 
cause my damnation. In imitation of my holy Mother, I 
will be very exact about saying anything that will attract 
to me glory and esteem. I will never speak either good 
or evil of myself, for fear, if I sa} r what is good I may 
appear holy, and if I say what is evil, I may appeat humble. 

I will never speak badly of those who may be preferred 
to me, because, in my heart, I believe that justice is 
rendered to others, and that I am the last of all. 

I will always place myself beneath my neighbor, con- 
sidering Jesus Christ, and His merits in her. I will say to 
myself incessantly, that there is no one who does not 
possess a thousand good qualities, which I do not, and 
who is not exempt from a thousand defects, which I have. 
I will place myself beneath those who appear even as 
nothing. I will be pleased to see them exalted above 
me, more considered, more honored, more esteemed, more 
loved, more distinguished, and applauded. 

Far from eagerly disputing, or contesting about employ- 
ments, I will choose, if possible, the most humiliating 
occupations, the lowest, most abject, most hidden, most 
unknown offices, considering myself as a useless servant. 
Rather, I will always keep myself near my superior, 
to do whatever she may require. If she gives me some 
marks of esteem and distinction, I will renounce the 



OJT HUMILITY OF HEART. 21 3 

secret joy which nature feels. If I am raised to the 
first charges, I will be afflicted, I will sigh before God, 
fearing that this may be the recompense of the little good 
I have done, and a cause of loss to me. I will regard glory 
and the esteem of creatures, as a sweet poison, which, 
swelling the heart, often causes death ; as a sovereign evil, 
which, on oue side, nearly alwa} T s destroys the merit of 
good actions, and, on the other, places almost invincible 
obstacles to salvation and perfection. 

I will everywhere persecute my pride as my deadliest 
enemy. I will declare and carry on against it open and 
continual war. I will work its destruction on all occasions. 
I will make neither peace nor truce with it. I will consider 
as my best friends, those who, by their contempt, put 
weapons in my hand to destroy it. I will love to be corrected 
and reprehended, not only by my superiors, but b} r my 
equals and inferiors. If my faults are made known, I will 
not seek to discover the author. I will not complain or be 
displeased ; on the contrary, I will be thankful for the 
correction. I will not seek to justify myself, I will not 
solicit any one to take my part, or defend me. 

I will often ask Thee, O my God, as did our holy 
mother and St. Francis of Sales, to aid me to humble myself. 
I will often go to Thee, as the prodigal went to his father, but 
in a different spirit. I will ask Thee to give me the portion 
that belongs to me, that is to say, nothingness and con- 
fusion. This is what is mine, and what I will take on all 
occasions as my portion, leaving to Thee, O Lord, all 
the gloiy, honor and praise, which are merited by the good 
}*ou have placed in me, and which You may do by me. I will 
take, as Thou didst order the workman in the Gospel 
to do, what is mine, that is shame and confusion, which 
are due to nvy sins. In this state of humiliation, which 
belongs tome, I will be diffident of all my dispositions and 
actions. In a word, I will be humble in my thoughts, 
affections, words, conduct, manners, walk, deportment, 
and even in the tone of my voice. 

Finally, Lord, Thou findest Thy happiness in the con- 
templation of Thy greatness. I will find mine in the 
contemplation of my miseries. Thou dwellest in heaven ; 
I will abide in the abyss of my own nothingness. I will 



214 ON MEEKNESS. 

try to bury myself therein more and more, to feel and 
penetrate more fully its depths' I wish no other place ; 
it is the only one that belongs to me, and in which I will 
find peace and repose, because descending to me, in 
proportion as I abase myself before Thee, Thou wilt fill 
the void which humility has made in my heart ; and Thou 
wilt give Thyself to me to be my inheritance and 
possession. 



EIGHTH DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. — ON MEEKNESS. 

First Point. 

" Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart." — 
Matt, xi., 29. 

One of the principal fruits of humility is meekness, 
that meekness of spirit of which Jesus Christ is at the 
same time the Master and the Model. This meekness is 
not the effect of a weak and insensible temperament, nor 
the portion of a languid soul, who, not being able to 
signalize herself by generous actions, seeks some glory 
in the exercise of a timid virtue. No, true meekness is not 
that softness, which, through humor and weakness, yields 
to others in dangerous matters. It is not that vacillation 
of mind, which makes us follow without choice and dis- 
cernment all the inclination^ of others, or blindly approve 
their passions. It is not that mean complaisance, which 
servilely subjects us to the will, or caprices of those 
from whom we have something to hope or fear. Nor 
is it the action of a skilful and accommodating mind, 
which pleases all sorts of persons through motives which 
are merely human, conforms to everything, artfully dis- 
tributes caresses, flatteries, applauses, and praises, or 
which, more touched by its reputation and the esteem of 
others, than ley the injuries it receives, skilfully conceals the 
resentments which it interiorly feels. Still less is it that 
feigned and politic moderation which, for a time dissembles 



ON MEEKNESS. 21o 

injuries that it may more surely avenge them when 
possible. True meekness has humility for its principle, 
the love of God for its support, and heaven for its reward. 
The meekness of Jesus Christ and, consequently, that of 
a religious, has pure and supernatural motives. It 
proceeds from the heart, which through a movement of 
charity, stifles all resentments at their birth. It is a virtue 
which appeases every violent sally, which regulates all 
the movements, looks, words, gestures, and turbulent 
emotions of the soul. " It is an immutable state of mind," 
says St. Francis of Sales, which renders the soul always 
the same in honor or contempt, which makes her suffer 
quietly the troubles and displeasures caused by her neigh- 
bor. It leads her to pray sincerely for her neighbor when 
suffering injustice from her — when she acts unjustly 
towards her. This virtue removes all harshness from her 
actions, for, if wisdom is the salt that should preserve 
them from corruption, meekness is the honey that should 
correct their bitterness." 

Thus, a true religious is meek through virtue. She 
supports pains without alarms, and contempt without 
chagrin. She obeys without constraint, accommodates 
herself to all sorts of humors, and resists nothing but sin. 
She is condescending without meanness, ready to endure 
everything, and to do good to everyone. She sacrifices 
everything to peace, and never yields with more pleasure 
than when she thinks she has most right to sustain her 
judgment. No harsh words ever escape her, she controls 
no one nor does she contradict, lest she should give rise 
to disputes. Her humors, manners, looks, discourses, 
tone of voice, everything breathes the meekness of Jesus 
Christ, her divine Model. She is a dove without gall, 
she knows not how to return evil for evil, she avenges 
herself only by benefits, and it is as natural for her to love 
her enemies, as it is for an angry man to hate them. 
Like a rock, which raised above the sea breaks the waves 
that dash against it, she opposes herself to the torrent of 
natural inclinations, and remains firm and immovable in 
the midst of the most violent agitations. Fixed in our 
Lord? Who is her support, she rules her passions, without 
being troubled by them. What disturbs others only 



216 ON MEEKNESS. 

serves to establish and strengthen her composure. Her 
occupations are without embarrassment, her labor without 
eagerness, her cares without emotion, her desires without 
disquietude. Her mind, partaking in some sort of the 
condition of the superior intelligences, sees, without being 
moved, the turmoil of sensible things. Her soul, as a 
region elevated above the storm, is always in an unalter- 
able tranquility, and this constant equality, which is to the 
mind what a perfectly healthy temperament is to the body, 
diffuses over her countenance a serene air, which shows 
that profound peace reigns within her soul. 

But meekness does not consist in simply repressing those 
exterior marks, which disfigure the noble traits that 
God has stamped upon us, as the animated characters of 
His own image and likeness. Its principal application is 
to labor within, and to regulate the movements of the heart. 
The most just soul is sometimes attacked by mutinous 
passions, and especially by a t3'rannical anger. She 
often becomes the theatre of a civil war, which arms all 
her powers against her, and excites within her trouble, 
disorder, and horrible confusion. In such times what is 
the effect of meekness? It commands the winds and 
the storm to be appeased, it restores calm, communi- 
cates to the soul the most unalterable patience, gives it a 
strength that nothing can shake, a moderation, which 
enables it to triumph over the sallies of nature and the 
tumultuous emotions of the passions. 

In this consists the true character of evangelical meek- 
ness. A religious, therefore, should not be satisfied with 
a tranquil and regular exterior. Her soul should be 
peaceful and moderate. In vain is the sea calm on its 
shores, if agitated in its centre. In vain would the exterior 
appear meek, if the interior be agitated. Far from a 
religious this hypocrisy, which cries, "Peace, peace!" 
when there is no peace ; which, under a vain show of 
meekness, yields to deliberate resentment ; which, by an 
artful dissimulation, suffers with apparent tranquility the 
injury it has received, while the remembrance of it is 
the more deeply engraved therein, by the silence and 
feigned moderation, which stifle all exterior marks of 
it! "The commencement of the victory," says St. 



ON MEEKXESS. 217 

Francis of Sales, "is without doubt the silence of the 
tongue, but the silence of the heart is the progress and 
perfection of this victory ; it is a stable and constant 
serenity of soul in the midst of the impetuous movements 
which corrupt nature excites, like so many impure 
winds." 

Therefore, according to this holy bishop, to feel the 
passions which the heat of blood excites in us, to suffer 
only the first sallies which act more quickly than reason, 
is to begin, and even advance in the practice of meekness. 
But to know how to extinguish the fire of anger and to 
stifle it at its birth, to remain firm and quiet, never 
wavering, wheu we see everj 7 thing around us change, not to 
be troubled by the vivacity of our inclinations, to move 
them and to be unmoved by them, to reign imperiously 
over ourselves, to be insensible to passing events, not by 
virtue of a happ}* temperament, but by the help of 
Christian vigilance, by the force of grace and the motive 
of the love of God and our neighbor ; this is to have 
attained a sublime degree of the true meekness of spirit, 
which our divine Saviour requires of us. This, our holy 
founder, himself, attained. After a thousand combats 
against his passions, after a thousand victories over anger 
which was natural to him, he at length found himself 
established in so profound a peace that nothing was 
capable of troubling it. From whom-had he obtained that 
peace which crowned him with so much glory? From 
Jesus Christ, Who is its Master, Model, and Motive. 

Second Point. 

Thou art not only meek, O my divine Saviour, but 
Thou art meekness and goodness itself ! Severity is 
foreign to Thy nature, and Thou showest Thyself 
merciful even in Thy anger ! Thou punishest the wicked 
only to recall them to Thee ! Thou chastisest as a 
Father, and Thy mercy extends over all Thy works ! 
Thou makest Thy thunder roll over our heads, only to rouse 
us from our torpor, and to give us a still more sensible 
proof of Thy love ! Thou hast become like unto us ! 
Thou hast tempered the rays of Thy majesty and glory 



2 i8 ON MEEKNESS. 

by the shades of Thy mortality ! How many traits of 
Thy amiable meekness are there not in the course of Thy 
life upon earth ! On coming into the world, Thou didst 
not cause Thyself to be called Judge, Master, God of 
armies, God of veugence, but wast pleased to be called 
Father, Spouse, Good Shepherd, Lamb, God of all con- 
solation, Prince of peace, — names of honeyed sweetness ! 
Thou didst take the form of an infant, symbol of meekness ! 
Thou wast not, as Isaiah had announced : " sad or trouble- 
some !" Thou didst not contest, nor was Thy voice heard 
abroad ! The bruised reed Thou didst not break and the 
smoking flax Thou didst not quench ! (Is. xlii. 2. 3. 4.) 
It seems as if Thou didst choose coarse and ignorant 
disciples purposely to exercise Thy patience and meekness. 
And with what goodness Thou didst support their weak- 
nesses ! With what condescension didst Thou accommodate 
Thyself to their minds, characters and defects ! When 
Thou didst reprove them, was it not always with much 
kindness? Although they sometimes understood so little 
the great maxims Thou didst teach them, although they 
profited so badly by Thy example, didst Thou show them 
any displeasure on that account? Didst Thou appear to be 
wearied with their conduct? James and John wished, 
through a spirit of rigor, that Thou wouldst cause fire 
from heaven to descend upon the city of Samaria, to punish 
its abduracy and ingratitude. With what meekness didst 
Thou not check their bitter zeal, saying : " You know not 
of what spirit you are !" 

Although Thou hadst an infinite horror of sin, Thou 
liadst not less goodness fo'r sinners. Never didst Thou 
reject one. Thou didst even seek them with eagerness ! 
Thou didst receive them witli infinite goodness, converse 
and even eat with them so familiarly, that the Pharisees 
reproached Thee on that account ! Thou didst pardon the 
guilty, condemned by their own crimes ; an adulteress 
confused and humbled found forgiveness in Thy sight, 
and Thou didst employ all the wisdom of a God to with- 
draw her from the severity of the law, and from her 
captious accusers ! How great was Thy condescension 
towards the Samaritan Woman ! How great Thy mercies 
to Magdalene ! With what eagerness didst Thou seek all 



Ok MEEKNESS. 219 

those who, by their infidelities, had withdrawn fi\,m Thee, 
to lead them hack to the paths of justice ! If Thou didst 
reprehend with zeal the hypocrisy of the Scribes and 
Pharisees, hadst Thou not great regard for their persons, 
and didst Thou not order that their doctrine should be 
believed, and submission shown to their orders ! If Thou 
didst appear angry against the profaners of the Temple, 
was it not that they might understand the greatness of their 
crime, and recover from their blindness ! Thou didst de- 
fend Thyself from the calumnies and persecutions of Thy 
enemies only by silence and by flight. In fine, to crown 
Thy life by acts of incomparable meekness, in the midst of 
the outrages with which Thou wast loaded, of the opprobri- 
ums which were heaped upon Thee, of the thousand 
torments which Thy enemies made Thee suffer, as a 
meek and patient lamb, according to the prophet, or as an 
innocent sheep led to the slaughter, a victim of Thy good- 
ness and charity, Thou didst not open Thy mouth to utter 
any complaint ! By Thy silence and patience, Thou 
didst astonish Thy enemies and Thy executioners. When 
the ungrateful and deicide Jews had attached Thee to the 
infamous Cross, Thou didst raise Thy voice to conjure Thy 
Father to pardon them, to forgive their heinous crime ! 
Astonishing examples, which persuade me more effica- 
ciously than the most eloquent and pathetic discourses ! 

After this, is it not with justice, O my Saviour, that 
Thou sayest to me, " Learn of Me because I am meek !" 
What light in these admirable words ! words which con- 
tain the example that charms, and the law that commands ! 
What an obligation for me to conform to Thee in the 
practice of Thy amiable meekness. O divine Jesus ! I 
may say to Thee with St. Augustine, when, at the be- 
ginning of the world, Thou didst create Heaven and earth ; 
when, by Thy infinite wisdom, Thou didst establish in 
nature that admirable order, which, with so much splendor, 
publishes Thy greatness ; when, by Tlvy omnipotence, 
Thou didst draw from nothingness this great universe ; 
when, to manifest Thy glory, Thou didst deliver Thy 
chosen people from cruel captivity, by opening to them a 
dry path through the sea; when, in the fulness of time, 
clothed with our nature, Thou didst raise the dead to life, 



220 ON MEEKNESS. 

unbind the tongues of the dumb, restore sight to the blind 
and hearing to the deaf, didst cure lepers and revive the with- 
ered limbs of paralytics, Thou didst not propose Thyself 
to me as a Model. But when shorn, so to say, of Thy 
strength, Thou didst practice meekness of spirit, it was 
then, that Thou didst give Thyself to me as my Model ! 
It would seem, as though Thou didst produce all the oracles 
of Thy wisdom to teach me that Thou art meek ! What 
powerful motives to lead me to imitate Thy amiable meek- 
ness, which is the foundation of evangelical doctrine and 
its distinctive spirit ! I will, O Jesus, make every effort 
to acquire this great virtue, which is especially that of my 
Institute ! I will apply myself to moderate and repress the 
eagerness and excess of anger, interior or exterior, to 
which my heart is naturally inclined. I will unceasingly 
watch over myself to overcome my vivacity. I will suffer 
tranquilly the afflictions, disgraces, and troubles, which come 
to me from Thee. I Will adore with respect, and without 
complaint all the dispositions of Thy justice in my regard. 
From my neighbor, I will endure injustice and contempt 
without chagrin, bitterness, or murmur. I will have 
tender compassion for her weakness, charitable indulgence 
for her defects. I will be meek and obliging towards all. 
I will avoid disputes and contentions, and prevent 
them ; when possible. I will maintain my opinion without 
haughtiness and obstinacy, so as to show that it is less 
through attachment to my own ideas, or contempt for those 
of others, than through zeal for truth, which I will never 
defend at the expense of charity. 

Adorable Saviour, Who, by Thy words and example, hast 
taught me meekness of spirit, add to Thy divine lesson 
the strength and unction of Thy grace, to make me love 
it ! Take from me, Lord, this heart of stone ! Give me 
one of flesh, whereon, according to Thy promise, Thou wilt 
engrave deeply the law of meekness with the ineffaceble 
characters of love ! Favor me with the benedictions of 
Thy goodness, and grant that I may be of the number of 
those, who will possess the recompense promised to the 
meek and peaceful of heart ! 



OX MUTUAL LOVE. 221 

EIGHTH DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION ON MUTUAL LOVE. 

First Point. 

" He that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law."— (Romans, 
xiii., 8.) 

" As charit}'," says St. Francis of Sales, "is for a 
christian the foundation, the principle and the end of the 
whole law, so for a Daughter of the Visitation, the whole 
spirit of her Order is reduced to the most solid practice of 
mutual love. She should have but cne heart and one soul 
with all those to whom she is united by the same voca- 
tion. It is by keeping herself always in this intimate 
union, that she will correspond to the end for which she 
came into the convent. And it is by her exactitude in 
practising all that can nourish and perfect this unity of 
spirit, that she will receive abundantly the effect of that 
admirable pra} T er, which Jesus Christ, before His passion, 
made to His Father, asking, that as His Father is in Him 
and He in His Father, we should be united in Him and all 
become, as it were, one." 

"All the good of our Institute," said St. Chantal, 
11 depends upon union. This precept of charity and 
mutual love is what I desire should remain in our congre- 
gation above all that I have said good during my life." 
My heart," added she, " would wither with sorrow, if I 
foresaw that charity would not be eternal in the Visitation." 

"But," resumes St. Francis of Sales, "in what does 
this mutual love consist, with which our sisters should love 
each other?" " Mutual love," continues he, " is the essence 
of true and sincere friendship, which can exist only 
between reasonable persons, who nourish it through the 
medium of reason. Otherwise, it cannot be mutual, and is 
only passion. Thus, the greater part of the friendships 
formed by men not having a good end, and not being governed 
by reason, do not deserve the name of mutual love. More- 
over, besides the medium of reason, there must be a certain 



222 ON MUTUAL LOVE. 

correspondence of vocation, claims and qualities between 
those who form a friendship. Experience clearly teaches 
this. For, is it not true, that there is no friendship truer 
and stronger that which exists between brothers and sisters? 
We do not call the love that children have for their parents 
friendship, because it has not this correspondence of 
which we speak. The love of parents is a majestic love, 
full of authority, and that of children for their parents is a 
love of respect and submission. But the love of brothers, 
on account of the similarity of their condition, is a 
firm and solid friendship. Therfore, the christians of 
the primitive church were all called brothers. When 
this fervor among the generality of christians grew 
cold, religious orders were instituted, in which it 
was ordained that all should call each other brother or 
sister, as a mark of the sincere, true and cordial friend- 
ship which the}' should bear to each other." 

' I say cordial friendship," says the holy bishop, 
" because it ought to have its foundation in the heart. 
That is, we should not be satisfied with loving our sisters 
as ourselves, as the commandment of God obliges, but 
we should love them more than ourselves, to observe the 
rules of perfection which require this. Our Lord has 
said: 'Love one another, as I have loved you.' This 
demands our attention. ' Love one another, as I have loved 
you.' This means more than ourselves, for our Lord pre- 
ferred us to Himself in all things, especially when we 
receive Him in holy Communion ; so it is His Will that we 
have a similar love for each other. As He did everything 
for us that He could possibly/ do, so He requires that we 
do everything for our neighbor, except to risk our sal- 
vation by sin. With tins-exception, our love should be so 
firm, cordial and solid, that we should never refuse to do or 
suffer anything for our neighbor and our sisters." 

"Now, this cordial love should be accompanied with two 
virtues, affability and good conversation. Affability 
diffuses a certain sweetness over those serious commu- 
nications that we sometimes have with each other. Good 
conversation renders us agreeable and gracious in the 
recreations and in less serious communications. Affa- 
bility keeps a just medium between too much and too 



ON MUTUAL LOVE. 223 

little. On the one hand, it excludes too great serious- 
ness, and on the other, too much softness in caressing 
and saying frequent words that tend to flattery. The 
virtue of conversation requires that we contribute to a holy 
and moderate jo}', and tc gracious entertainments, which 
may serve to console and recreate our neighbor, so that 
we do not weary her by too grave and melancholy a 
demeanor, or refuse to recreate in the time destined for it." 

"In a word, if we are not always naturally sweet and 
agreeable, we must nevertheless love our neighbor with our 
whole heart, and as our Lord has loved us, — that is, more 
than ourselves, always preferring her to ourselves in the 
order of holy charity, and never refusing anything we can do 
to contribute to her welfare, except our eternal loss . . . We 
must procure her all the good we can for soul and body, 
praying for her and serving her cordially when the 
occasion presents itself. The friendship which consists 
in fine words is not worth much ; this is not to love 
as our Lord loved us. He was not contented with 
assuring us that He loved us, but went further by doing 
all He has done to prove His love." 

" St. Paul, speaking to his spiritual children, says ' I am 
ready to give my life for you, and to be employed in such a 
manner, as to testify how dearly and tenderly I love you.'' 
Yes, he meant to say, I am ready to let them do with me 
whatever they please for 3 our sake. In this, he teaches 
us that to employ ourselves, and even to give our life for 
our neighbor is not so much, as to be employed at the 
pleasure of others, for their sake. He had learned this 
from our sweet Saviour, and it is to this degree of the love 
of our neighbor that we are called. For, it is not enough 
to assist our neighbor, in things which are easy to us, nor 
is it enough to employ our own person to suffer for her 
sake, we must go still farther, letting ourselves be 
employed for her by holy obedience, and by her as she 
shall please, without ever resisting. I always mean in 
that which is not contrary to God and does not offend 
Him." 

" Let us, therefore, love one another, and let us use this 
pressing motive : our Lord on the Cross shed even the last 
drop of His blood on the earth, as if to make a holy 



*224 ON MUTUAL LOVE. 

cement, with which to unite and attach all the stones of His 
Church, which are the faithful, that this union might be 
strong, and that there never should be any division, so 
much did He fear that disunion would lead to eternal 
damnation." 

" Bearing with the imperfections of our neighbor is 
oneof the principles of this love. Our Lord on the Cross 
gave us an ineffable example of this. He excused those 
who with barbarous cruelty were outraging and crucifying 
Him. He even sought reasons to make His Father 
pardon them in the very act of the sin and injury." 

"We must also remark," continues our holy founder, 
"that mutual love is attached to a virtue, which is, as it 
were, dependent on this love". This is a childlike confidence, 
which makes the sisters communicate to one another their 
little graces and consolations, and not fear that their im- 
perfections should be remarked. I do not say, that if some 
one had an extraordinary gift from God, it should be told to 
every one. No, but as to our little graces and consolations, 
I wish that we should not be reserved, but when occasions 
present themselves, communicate them simply and freely 
to each other, not by wa}' of boasting, but in simple con- 
fidence. As to our faults, we should not take pains to 
conceal them. On the contrary, we should be very glad 
that we are recognized for such as we are. You may, it 
is true, have, committed a fault, but it is before your sisters, 
who love you dearly, and will, therefore, know how to bear 
with your fault, having more compassion for you than 
passion against you. This confidence will greatly foster 
mutual love and the tranquility of our minds, which are 
liable to be disturbed when we are known to have failed 
in anything, as if it were a great wonder that we are im- 
perfect." 

" In fine," continues our holy founder, " this union of 
sisters should not only be in the heart, but should extend 
to their actions and conduct. They should bear a cordial 
love to one another in all things, vying with one another in 
showing marks of respect, always preferring others to them • 
selves, and being very glad when these are preferred to 
themselves. They should esteem all that others do, chari- 
tably cover their defects, yield to their will and judgment, 



ON MUTUAL LOVE. 225 

serve them in all their wants, love their welfare and prefer 
their repose to their own. In fine, they should never re- 
fuse to do or suffer all that is possible to make them happy." 

Second Point. 

Engrave upon my heart, O my God, these words of my 
holy founder ! May they become the rule of my conduct ! 
Charity is the law and spirit of my Institute, the dis- 
tinctive mark of the true disciples and children of my holy 
founders. In vain would I practice all other virtues, if I 
neglect this ! Precious and divine charity, come into my 
heart ! Banish from it a thousand contrary defects, resent- 
ments, coldness, antipathies, airs of contempt, indifference, 
haughtiness, partialities, and all those excesses opposed to 
the divine precepts ! Correct in me the habit of forming 
rash judgments, revealing hidden faults, supposing, or 
suspecting evil ! Ah ! Lord, I acknowledge my iniquity 
and injustice ! I am in a house in which Thou hast only 
faithful servants, whose fervor continually confounds me ; 
I am surrounded by all that can edify me. How, then, have 
I persecuted Thy just ones? perhaps, condemned what 
Thou dost approve? been offended at what honors Thee? 
How have I blamed what is deserving of Thy reward? 
reprehended that, by which I should have profited? My 
sisters are in favor with Thee and I show them no favor. 
They enjoy Thy holy peace and I permit them not to be at 
peace with me. Thou treasurest their merits and I apply 
myself only to publish their imperfections. They succeed 
iu pleasing Thee, and I am displeased at almost all they do. 
May Thy charity render me more equitable, and equity 
render me more charitable ! I have, O Jesus, wounded 
Thy Heart in the most sensible manner by offending my 
sisters ! Thy goodness towards them is so great, that 
their interest is, in some sort, dearer to Thee than Thy 
own. Yes, outrages against Thy glory, contempt of Thy 
love, seem to wound Thee less keenly tfian the least 
wrong done to Thy faithful spouses. How greatly 
then, have I irritated Thy anger by conceiving against 
them the slightest contempt? by nourishing in my 
soul the least aversion for their persons? by speaking 
15 



226 ON MUTUAL LOVE. 

the least word to their disadvantage? How could I 
carry hatred even into Thy Sacred Heart, in which Thou 
hast placed them, warring against them, even in Thy 
bosom, thus wounding Thy paternal affection, wherein we 
should be all united ? O God of mei*cy ! Whose Heart 
is all goodness and sweetness, Whose bowels are all love 
and tenderness, how little have I known and practised a 
virtue so dear to Thy disciples ! A virtue, which is the 
accomplishment and compendium of all virtues! Can 1 
call by the name of charity the natural and human feelings 
that I entertained for certain persons? How different 
have been my views from Thine ! Canst Thou recognize 
me as a child of St. Francis of Sales? Pardon O Lord, 
the wounds I have made in Thy Heart, in Thy sacred 
love ! Enkindle once more in me the fire that I have 
unhappily extinguished ! Consecrate by Thy grace all my 
affections ! Impress deeply in my soul the sacred characters 
which, by Thy law, Thou hast already traced therein and 
sealed with Thy Blood upon the Cross ! Make me love 
my neighbor as Thou hast loved me ! Be Thou my rule ! 
Be Thou my model ! Thou has loved me so much as to 
shed Thy blood for me ! Thus, should I love my sisters, 
if I wish to keep my rule and the spirit of my rule ! Thou 
hast united us not only by the same nature, but by the 
same flesh and blood, in the bosom of our first parents, 
by the same religion, in the bosom of the Church ! Thou 
hast made of Thy Body a sacred bond to bind us more 
closely in the unity of Thy Spirit ! Thou dost constantly 
communicate to us Thy august Self, that, being nourished 
with the same substance, we may become but one same 
thing with Thee, and that by this nourishment, which is 
not changed into our substance, but changes us into Thee, 
we may no longer form but one heart in Thee and with 
Thee ! I will, then, adore Thee O Jesus, in my neighbor, 
in whom Thou really art ! I will love all in Thee ! I 
will forgive as Thou hast forgiven ! I will pardon that 
Thou mayest pardon me ! Admirable resource for me, 
who owe Thy justice infinite satisfaction ! Resource so 
advantageous, that St. John Chrysostom says, that if it 
were permitted, the sinner should wish to have enemies, 
in order that by pardoning them, he may obtain the pardon 



OX MUTUAL LOVE. 227 

of his sins ! I will then profit by this powerful means ! 
I will try to participate in that infinite goodness "with 
which Thou didst pardon Thy enemies, and hast so often 
pardoned me ! 

No more disdain, rebuffs, dry or haughty manners. 
I will be humble, edifying, polite, grateful, full of 
regard, support, and respect for my sisters. With them, 
I will be familiar without meanness, polite without 
affectation, agreeable without flattery, upright through a 
principle of meekness patience and mortification. I will 
love them without partiality, inconstancy, or weakness, 
for the love of Thee alone. I will overcome in myself 
every sentiment of dislike, antipathy and even of indif- 
ference. I will have no tie or attachment of which Thou 
art not the principle, rule, motive, and end. My charity 
will be true, sincere and cordial. It will be supernatural 
in its motive, universal in its object, efficacious in its 
works. It will be manifested, not only in word, but in 
deed ; not only in offers, but in services, and, if necessary, 
in sacrifices. To oblige my sisters, I will not wait for 
their pressing needs or demands, but I will anticipate them, 
especially for those of whom I have reason to complain. 
I will correct those defects, which may be a subject of 
pain to them, and still more, those which may be a cause 
of disedification or bad example. I will judge equitably, 
spare charitably, support patiently the humor of others. 
I will sanctify mine by studying it attentively, restrain- 
ing it constantly and regulating it religiously. Humility 
will be the base and foundation of my love of my sisters, 
and will inspire me with esteem for them and contempt 
for myself. It will lead me to yield to them the first place and 
always to seek the last, to excuse their faults and ignore my 
virtues, to rejoice at their advantages, talents, and success, 
and never to glory in my own. This is not enough, I will 
suffer with them, for them, and from them ; I will say 
with St. Paul, and try to practice these oxioms as he did : 
44 Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is scandalized 
and I am not on fire?" (II Corinth, xi., 29). There is 
no sort of trial, which I will not endure for my sisters, 
even so far as to be ready to become anathema, if pos- 
sible, for their salvation. That nothing may be wanting to 



228 ON AVERSIONS AND PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS. 

the exercise of my charity, I declare that neither mor- 
tifications, nor injustice, nor persecutions, nor my disgust, 
nor their ingratitude, will ever prevent me from loving 
and serving them. I will have engraven in the depths 
of my heart and before my eyes this wonderful rule of 
my holy founder : " To suffer from every one, and make 
no one suffer from me." 



EIGHTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE ON AVERSIONS. AND PARTICULAR FRIEND- 
SHIPS. 

"Dearly beloved, let us love one another. — I. St. John iv., 7. 

St. Jerome relates that, when the beloved disciple was 
broken by age and exhausted by weakness, he caused 
himself, languid as he was, to be carried in the arms of his 
disciples, that he might repeat to the assembled faithful, 
in a dying voice, these words of holy love : u My dear 
children, let us love one another." When they complained 
of his repetition, of this, and asked the reason, he made an 
answer worthy of him, who had reposed upon the bosom 
of a God and penetrated into the secrets of His Heart. 
"It is," said he, " the great precept of our Lord, and, if 
well observed, it is sufficient." 

Thus, St. Francis of Sales, the illustrious imitator of 
the Beloved Disciple, said to His daughters : " Forget, if 
you will, every other counsel, in order to remember this 
short but essential lesson : Love one another, love one 
another for God, and according to God. Love one another 
as Jesus Christ has loved you. Love one another in time 
as you are destined to love each other for all eternity 
in heaven ! " 

He wished that his congregation should be, in a special 
manner, a society of which charity should be the bond and 
the soul, from which all dissension should be banished, and 
which, uniting all hearts, should conciliate all characters. 
He required a bearing with our neighbor, which would be 
proof against everything. There is scarcely one of his 



ON AVERSIONS AND PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS. 229 

letters or his entertainments, in which he does not recom- 
mend peace and union. When he spoke, he insinuated 
mutual love in his words and conversations, which were al- 
ways useful and profitable. In all the visits he paid to the 
different houses of his Institute, he always inquired if a 
tender union dwelt there. He wished each community to 
be a sanctuary of peace and union. He would never suffer 
any contentions even in trifling things, because he knew 
there is no contention without emotion and generally, no 
emotion without sin. He knew that we cannot follow the 
impulse of passion without wounding ourselves and others, 
and that this gives rise to bitterness and coldness, in- 
dignation and aversion. To remedy this evil, he required 
that mutual condescension should be practised in every- 
thing not contrary to duty. "For," added he, "each 
one has her opinion on the most indifferent things, but 
if each one wished her opinion to prevail and be adopted, 
everything would be in confusion. But my opinion is 
good, says one; well, so is the opinion of the other. 
Therefore, let each one of you keep her opinion, since the 
apostle permits it, but let her not sin. To wish to contest 
and bring over everybody to our opinion, when there is 
no question of duty, is pride and obstinacy. Humble 
charity forbids this obstinacy, because we ought to consider 
others better and more enlightened than ourselves." 

"As for those things," continues he, "in which our 
opinions are supported by the rule, we cannot form con- 
trary ones, and no contentions are to be feared on that 
subject. Each one loves and respects her duty too much 
ever to deviate from the spirit of her state. This love of 
duty is the most powerful bond of union > All have the 
same intention of aspiring incessantly to the highest per- 
fection. They mutually animate and fortify each other, 
for perfect charity is not limited to the present time, it 
is not contented with relieving the body, but it desires 
the perfection of our neighbor as well as our own." 

It was thus our holy founder, after having established 
the necessity and motives of charity, entered into a detail 
of the motives that could nourish it. He wished that 
mutual love should dwell in the soul of each of his 
daughters and direct all her words. He forbade the expos- 



230 ON AVERSIONS AND PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS. 

ure of our neighbor's faults, all raillery or joking upon the 
looks, manners, mind, and qualities of the absent, or any- 
thing that might cast ridicule upon them. He was par- 
ticularly averse to private friendships, aversions, anti- 
pathies, and sympathies, nourished in the heart and 
injurious to Jesus Christ and our neighbor. 

" What is an aversion?" said he. "It is a certain 
inclination, sometimes natural, which makes us feel 
a repugnance to some persons. That is, we do not take 
pleasure in conversing with them, as we would in convers- 
ing with those towards whom we feel an inclination, or whom 
we love with a sensible love. Now, we must pay no 
attention to these natural aversions or inclinations except 
to submit them all to reason. The only remedy for this 
evil, as for every other sort of temptation, is a simple 
diversion. I mean, not to think of it. But the misfor- 
tune is, we always wish to know if we are right or not, in 
having an aversion for some person. Ah ! never must 
we amuse ourselves in this research, for our self-love, 
which never sleeps, will make us believe that we have 
good reasons ; that is to say, it will make us see, that it is 
true that we have certain reasons which seem to us good. 
If these be approved b} T our pride and judgment, there 
will be no means to prevent our finding them just and 
reasonable. Now, we must guard against this. I speak 
more at length upon this point, because it is of impor- 
tance. We never have good reason for an aversion, much 
less to nourish such a thing. I say, therefore, when it is 
a simple natural aversion, we must turn away from it, 
without seeming to notice it./ But we must combat and 
subdue it, when we see that it goes farther, and wishes to 
make us depart from the submission that we owe to reason. 
For reason never permits us to do anything in favor of 
our aversions or inclinations, when there is danger of our 
offending God." 

" Our inclinations, as well as aversions," continues our 
holy founder, wt must be conformable to reason. We 
must testify that we love our sisters. We must render to 
all, as far as we can, external evidences of our affection, 
but without testifying too much familiarity, as the rule 
says. Thus, we must testify that we love our sisters and 



ON AVERSIONS AND PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS. 231 

take pleasure in being with them, provided that sanctity 
always accompanies the testimony that we render them. 
St. Paul wishes that our affection be manifested in a holy 
manner. You ask, if it be lawful to testify more affection 
for a sister, whom you esteem more virtuous than another. 
To this, I answer that, although we are obliged to love 
most with the love of complacency those, who are the most 
virtuous, we should not, however, love them most with the 
love of benevolence, and we should not give to them 
greater proofs of friendship. There are two reasons for 
this : first, our Lord did not do it. It even seems that 
He showed more affection for the imperfect than for the 
perfect, since He said, that He had not come for the just, 
but for sinners. It is to those who have most need of us 
that we should more effectually testify our love, for, then, 
we show better that we love through charity, than when 
we love those who give us consolation. In this we must 
proceed as the needs of our neighbor demand. In other 
respects, we must endeavor to love all equally, since our 
Lord did not say : Love the most virtuous ; but indiffer- 
ently : ' Love one another, as I have loved you.' Secondly, 
the reason that forbids our rendering testimonies of 
friendship to some more than others is that we cannot 
judge who are the most perfect and have most virtue, for 
exterior appearances are often deceitful, and very often 
those who seem to you to be the most virtuous are not so 
before God, Who alone knows them. On the contrary, it 
may happen, that a sister, whom you see fall very often 
and commit many imperfections, will be more virtuous and 
more agreeable to God, either on account of the greatness 
of her courage amid her imperfections, or the humility she 
derives from them, or in fine, the love of her abjection. 
We must, therefore, maintain ourselves as equally as 
possible in the love we owe our sisters, for the aforesaid 
reasons, and all ought to know that we love them with this 
mutual love, without our saying that we love them dearly. 
When we love one more than another, because we feel a 
particular inclination for her, our love'is not more perfect, 
but more subject to change at the least thing she will do. 
If we have an inclination to love one more than another, we 
should not think of it, much less tell it to her. We should 



232 ON AVERSIONS AND PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS. 

love our neighbor not through inclination, but because he 
is made to the image and likeness of God, and because it 
is God's will that we should love every one." 

Thus does St. Francis of Sales express himself, or 
rather, such is the condemnation he pronounces against 
that false, defective charity, rejected by God, because it 
is purely human and natural ; and against those aversions, 
those dislikes, wilfully entertained ; and, in general, that 
charity limited to a certain number, to a certain choice 
of persons. Inclinations and antipathies for one are ac- 
cording to the difference of feeling with which a sister 
conducts herself. Another has her particular friends for 
whom she spares nothing, but she takes little interest in 
wh^t regards the rest of the community. A third has her 
predilections for some, her resentments for others. Thus, 
the order of charity is overthrown in religious houses, 
which are established only to preserve the spirit of the 
early church, and of the primitive christians who composed 
it, and who all formed but one heart and one soul. Our 
holy Father lias endeavored to guard against this disorder in 
his Institute, by conciliating all hearts, by leading them to 
perfect conformity and most holy unity. A religious of 
the Visitation, more than any other, should, therefore, be 
animated by that patient charity which nothing alters, 
that universal charity which refuses nothing, that super- 
natural charity which loves only for God and in view 
of God. " She loves her dear neighbor," says our holy 
Mother de Chantal, " she views her only in the bosom of 
our divine Saviour. She is all gentleness, all sweetness, 
all charity ; she excuses everything, supports everything, 
never judges any one, always condemning herself and no 
one else. She is convinced that nothing is due to her, 
that she does not deserve to be mentioned. She looks upon 
herself as the last in the house of the Lord, although she 
may have had the happiness of living in it a long time. 
If she finds any emotion in her heart against her 
neighbor, she immediately stifles it, and never lets a word 
of complaint escape her." She knows that if we un- 
happily listen to our passion, it is a fire which quickly kindles, 
and that one spark produces a great conflagration ; that it 
is easier to say nothing than to moderate our tongue, 



ON AVERSION'S AND PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS. 233 

when once we let it loose. She often prays that a 
guard of circumspection may be set on her lips, that 
nothing may escape them which could wound or weaken the 
holy union that reigns in the house. Her love for her 
neighbor has the Holy Ghost, not flesh nor blood, for its 
principle, God, not qualities purely natural for its object 
and motive ; eternity, not a momentary satisfaction for 
its term. Natural inclination does not determine her 
charity, but the movements of grace, the view of God and 
the imitation of Jesus Christ. 

Nothing is so vast as her heart, her charity is universal. 
It extends to all without exception of persons, because we 
are all comprised under the name and quality of neighbor. 
If she has to live with persons less amiable or reasonable, 
full of defects, and persons of an odd, difficult, dis- 
agreeable humor, without feeling, education or gratitude ; 
if she cannot have that sensible affection, which does not 
depend upon us, she has that real and solid charity which 
religion inspires. She loves her neighbor in spite of her 
imperfections and even of her vices, as her divine Saviour 
loves her notwithstanding her defects and miseries. She 
excepts no one, lest it might be Jesus Christ, Himself, 
Whom she excepts. She willingly supports weaknesses, 
which remind her of her own, and forgives so much the 
more readily, as she is persuaded that everyone is incess- 
antly forgiving her. She often remembers that maxim of 
St. Paul, which her holy Mother had constantly upon her 
lips: "Bear ye one another's burthens." She even 
thinks that this law of mutual support is more advantage- 
ous for her than for anyone else, that if anjof the sisters 
had a right to complain, it would be those who are 
witnesses of her defects and imperfections. If the 
maxims, discourses, sentiments, humor, conduct, even the 
countenance of others offend her, she cannot perhaps help 
experiencing feelings of antipathy, but she can refrain 
from entertaining them interiorly in her heart, or from 
showing them exteriorly 03- her manner. She makes to 
God the double sacrifice of what she experiences within, 
and of what she might testify without. She never wilfully 
entertains any sentiments of aversion, contempt or hatred 
for any person, and never shows by her air, words, or 



234 ON AVERS/. NS AND PARTICULAR FR/ENPgff/PS. 

conduct anything that may naturally displease her. 
Through an exterior which may be despicable, she 
penetrates to the bottom of the soul, to consider its 
amiable qualities. She sees in every one the image of 
Jesus Christ, with Whose Precious Blood she is covered. 
She remembers this advice of her holy founder: '* If the 
action of your neighbor has a hundred different aspects, 
always view the best side Think she is like a diamond, 
covered with dust or mud, and not less valuable on that 
account. She closes her eyes to the weakness of her 
neighbor, becomes blind, as it were, to dissemble her faults, 
makes it a law not to speak of them, excuses, diminishes, 
and justifies them as far as she can. Being fully persu- 
aded, as her holy founder was, that there is no one so 
miserable as not to have something good in her, she takes 
for the foundation of her love whatever is most estima- 
ble in this soul, and whenever she is ill-spoken of, she 
excuses her. Or, as her holy Mother did, she keeps her 
eyes fixed on her own defects, and sees only what is good 
in her neighbor. She sees virtues and good qualities 
everywhere and in every one ; she has a particular talen t 
for speaking of them and making them known. It is only 
on this condition, that she consents to converse with her 
neighbor. What she says is accompanied with an air of 
sincerity and conviction, that persuades those who hear 
her, and never do they leave her company without having 
learned something good of those of whom she has spoken. 
Such is the love of a religious for all her sisters in 
general, and still greater is her tenderness towards those, 
who give her some cause oj vexation, or who have de- 
signedly done her some unkind office. Her charity is 
ardent enough to consume as straws all these little sub- 
jects of discontent. She is as ready to give them plea- 
sure, as they were to give her pain. She prays for them, 
speaks to their advantage, and renders them every duty 
or service in her power. She avenges herself only by 
benefits, loves those that hate her, and looks upon no one 
as an enemy, because she is convinced that those who 
injure her render her a great good, which obliges her to 
regard them more favorably than her best friends. They 
oblige her lo watch over her actions, and to do nothing 



C2? AVERSIONS AND PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS. 235 

from which she can draw any advantage. They give her 
occasions of patience, and, at the same time, means of 
appeasing the anger of God, paying her debts, meriting 
graces, and working out her salvation. Whilst friends 
often flatter her passions, support her in her defects, and 
withdraw her from God, by praising what should be blamed 
and blaming what should be praised. 

But the love of her neighbor does not lead her, under 
pretext of mutual union, to form particular friendships. 
As slie does not extend to her neighbor her hatred for 
vice, neither does she extend to vice the love she ought 
to have for her neighbor ; that is to say, that she does not 
love her neighbor in a manner that leads her to transgress 
her rules and deviate from her duty. She knows, that 
besides the envy, murmuring and bad example caused in a 
community by particular friendships, they often lead to 
the violation of silence and other observances ; that they 
produce detractions, railleries, aversions, judgments, sus- 
picions, complaints, animosities, bitterness, parties, divis- 
ions, hatred and scandalous schisms, which tear to pieces 
a community within, and dishonor it without. She 
knows that there is an essential difference between charity 
and sympatlty, between charity and natural inclinations, 
between charity and conformity of humor, between charity 
and selfishness, between charity and policy, between 
charity and the connection of flesh and blood. She leaves 
to pagans sentiments, inclinations, and affections purely 
natural, human and profane. It is Jesus Christ alone, 
Whom she sees in her neighbor ; her charity emanates 
from Him, and tends to Him. In her heart, she loves 
those most who are most fervent, because our Lord Him- 
self loves them more than those, who are less faithful to 
Him. But she never gives them marks of this love, which 
might offend others, excite their jealousy, or lead to cool- 
ness and disunion. 

Finally, she has no predilection for this one, or cold- 
ness of heart for the other. She is attentive to purify 
her inclinations, even those that are innocent and reason- 
able, to sacrifice her natural aversions, of which she has 
not the control. To avoid every rock, she loves equally 
all her Sisters in God, and for God. No human motives 



236 ON THE GRACE OF A RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 

degrade her sentiments. No earthly views mar her char- 
ity. Conformity of humor, character, taste, and inclina- 
tion count as nothing in her affections. She loves sin- 
cerely and from the heart, effectively, actively, univer- 
sally, without exception. She loves in the Heart of our 
common Father ; she loves as Jesus Christ has loved us, 
as the saints love in heaven. Destined to love and to 
be forever united to her sisters in God, she loves them 
in this world for Him, and in Him, in order to love them 
forever in heaven. 



NINTH DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. — ON THE GRACE OF A RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 

First Point. 

" But you are a chosen generation, .... a holy nation, a 
purchased people ; that you may declare His virtues, who hath 
called you out of darkness into His admirable light." — I Ep. St. 
Peter, ii., 9. 

How lively should be the gratitude of a religious for the 
holy vocation, of which it has pleased God to grant her 
the grace ! Through greatness He owed her nothing ; 
through justice He owed her rigorous chastisements ; but 
through goodness He loved her with a love of predilec- 
tion, and this love, made Him open to her all his treasures. 
What would have become of her if this beneficent God had 
not looked upon her with an/ eye of mercy? She would 
still have been in the darkness of nothingness, in the 
darkness of sin, or in the darkness of the world, three 
profound nights, in which she would have been unhappily 
buried ; the night of nothingness , which would have ren- 
dered her incapable of ever seeing God ; the night of sin, 
which would have rendered her unworthy of ever possess- 
ing Him ; the night of the world, which would, perhaps, 
have removed her from Him forever. She was nothing, 
and this divine Benefactor drew her from nothingness ; 
she was in sin, and He purified her in the waters of 
baptism ; she was in the world, and He disengaged her 



ON THE GRACE OF A RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 237 

from it to bring her into His sanctuary. He became her 
heavenly Father by giving her birth ; her true Redeemer, 
by delivering her from the bonds of sin ; her Protector and 
her God, by sheltering her in the asylum which His good- 
ness prepared for her. To how many others has He not 
refused the same favors ! But not satisfied with deliver- 
ing her from the greatest evils, He has lavished upon her 
the greatest benefits. He has imprinted on her, His most 
holy image ; He has placed her in the number of His 
dearest children ; He has surrounded her with His most 
brilliant lights ; He has revealed to her His most sublime 
truths ; He has given her a most special right to the 
heavenly inheritance. Her soul has bceome His most 
cherished temple ; her whole person has been consecrated 
to Him ; she is His, and great as He is, she can say in 
her turn, that He disdains not to be hers. At the sight of 
all these graces, should not a religious be penetrated with 
the most tender and lively gratitude? Should not her lips 
incessantly proclaim the greatness of a God, so tender 
and so powerful? Should not her whole life be worthy 
of Him? 

Can she ever sufficiently estimate the benefit of her vo- 
cation, a favor which she should value a thousand times 
more than all the sceptres and crowns of the universe ? 
Can she ever sufficiently esteem a state which preserves 
her from an infinity of sins, which she would have com- 
mitted in the world ; which occupies her continually with 
exercises of piety ; which enables her to gain at each mo- 
ment immortal crowns of glory; which gives her God 
Himself for her portion ; which procures her the honor 
and advantage of dwelling in His house, where she enjoys 
those ineffable delights, which will infallibly conduct her 
to heaven, if she faithfully fulfils her duties? Ah ! it is 
an inestimable grace, and only in eternity will she know 
its full value. What is there in Christianity greater than 
martyrdom, which seems to be most excellent and most 
perfect, because charity cannot be carried farther than to 
suffer death for Jesus Christ? But, the religious state 
is more than a martydom. It contains as many martyr- 
doms, as the virtues it obliges her to practice. " Because," 
says St. Francis of Sales, " all the virtues making us die 



238 ON THE GRACE OF A RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 

to the opposite vices, immolating us to God, and causing 
us the greatest violence to practice them, are so many 
martyrdoms." 

Thus, it may be said of a true religious, that she resem- 
bles those heroes, and heroines of religion, who have 
suffered a great number of martyrdoms, by the multitude of 
different torments which the cruelty of tyrants made them 
undergo. Yet this difference, which is so glorious to 
her, marks the change ; Fbst, her martyrdom is voluntary, 
whereas that of the other martyrs was often brought about 
by the sight of the sword of the eternal God ready to strike 
them, if they betrayed their religion. Jesus Christ in ask- 
ing her heart did not ask it as a Master ; but as a Spouse. 
Second, they were martyrs of faith, but she is a martyr of 
perfection ; they suffered that they might not lose their 
souls, and she suffers to render hers more perfect and 
more agreeable to God. They were martyrs of the war 
which the Church endured, and she is a martyr of the 
peace which it enjo} 7 s, a sacrifice, so much the greater, as 
it is more voluntaiy. Third, the torments of the other 
martyrs were soon ended, whilst hers, although less acute, 
keeps the victim in constant suspense, leaving her until 
death no respite, but what is necessary not to fail under 
the burden. How happy, then, is the religious soul, 
which is called to a state, wherein she can merit so many 



crowns 



Her state places her not simply in the rank of martyrs. It 
also gives her a place among the apostles, prophets, patri- 
archs, and the angels, and even elevates her to the highest 
choirs of the cherubim and' seraphim. It gives her a 
place among the apostles, because, if the pastors of the 
Church are the heirs of their power, by the character 
which they receive at their ordination, the religious soul 
is the heiress of their sanctity, by her renunciation of all 
temporal possessions, her application to prayer, and her 
interior, painful, and austere life. This made St. Francis 
of Sales say, that the religious life is an imitation of the 
laborious lives of the Apostles. Her state gives her a place 
among the prophets, because she is their disciple, child, 
and emulator ; because removed from the world she imi- 
tates their hidden life, like them, she passes her days in 



ON THE GRACE OF A RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 239 

continual discourses with God, and she announces future 
events more by her actions than by her words ; that is to 
say, the coming of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and the 
destruction of the empire of the devil. Her state gives 
her a place among the patriarchs, because it renders her 
the heiress of their faith and of their simplicity, and in 
some manner, the mother of those whom she begets spiri- 
tually, by the prayers and good works which she offers 
continually for their salvation, and by the edifying spec- 
tacle she presents them of her life. Her state gives her a 
place among the angels, because it makes her lead an 
angelic life, as St. Francis of Sales remarks, and keeps her 
occupied continually in singing the praises of God. In 
fine, her state elevates her to the choirs of cherubim and 
seraphim, because it fills her with light and ardor, which, 
in imitation of them, she afterwards infuses into the 
hearts of others. "In a word," her state, says St. Francis 
of Sales, after St. Cyprian and St. Gregory, " is the inheri- 
tance of the God of Jacob, over which He sheds a more 
abundant reign of His graces. Her heart is His temple, 
wherein He keeps His richest treasures, and she, herself, 
is a flower of the garden of the Church, which beautifies, 
ornaments, and embalms with sweet odor all around her. 
She is the living image of Jesus Christ, expressing faith- 
fully all the trials of His sanctity. She is a member of 
the most illustrious portion of the flock of her divine Shep- 
herd ; one of the precious stones in the sacred edifice 3f 
which Jesus Christ is the foundation and corner-stone ; in 
fine one of the pillars of faith, and this is to be her crown." 
Can she then sufficiently love, honor, and respect so excel 
lent and so illustrious a state ? Should she not incessantly 
congratulate herself on being called to it, and spare 
nothing to fulfil its obligations most perfectly? It is 
not sufficient to have entered faithfully into her vocation, 
she must fulfil it. Saul was called by God Himself 
to royalty ; the disciple, who betrayed his Master, was 
called by Jesus Christ to the Apostleship ; but do not their 
terrible falls, show that the best vocation is not of 
itself sufficient ; that it is necessary to correspond to it by 
fulfilling all its duties? " In effect," says our holy 
Founders, " would it not be a monstrous thing, to see in 



240 ON THE GRACE OF A RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 

one same religious, a high dignity and a low life ; an emi- 
nent condition and a scandalous conduct ; a state worthy 
of respect, and manners worthy of contempt?" 

Second Point. 

O my God, can I ever sufficiently thank Thee for the 
mercy Thou hast shown me, in calling me to religion? 
Or rather what sorrow can I show sufficiently great to 
expiate my ingratitude towards Thee, and my infidelities 
to the promises I have made Thee, and which I have so 
badly observed ? 

It is not to the chance effect of an inevitable 
fatality, that I owe my state, but to Thy goodness, O 
God, Who, as the apostle says, hast called me from the 
womb of my mother. I was not yet, and Thou didst 
take possession of me ; before anything was created, 
Thou hadst destined me for religion. The heavens were 
not yet stretched out, nor the earth fixed on its axis, 
and Thou hadst already chosen me. Before all time, 
before all ages, Thou hadst distinguished me in the chaos 
of nothingness, not only to give me being, which is a 
common grace, a general benefit, but to place me in 
Thy sanctuary, and to establish there my salvation and 
repose. It is neither to my birth, to my own efforts, nor 
to a chain of secondary causes, but to Thy infinite mercy, 
to Thy gratuitous love, that I owe it. Thrice happy 
portion ! Before consecrating myself to Thee, my soul 
was already enriched with Thy benefits. Thou hadst 
given me a new birth in Baptism, Tbou hadst infused 
into my heart, the precious gifts of Thy spirit, the 
sublime virtues of faith, hope and love, virtues which 
attach to Thee, those that possess them, and which at the 
same time are the pledges and sources of salvation ! I 
enjoyed the quality of Thy child, and Thou hadst given 
me a right to the heavenly inheritance ! 

What was yet wanting to my elevation ? In the views 
of Thy mercy for me, there was in Thy house, which is 
the Church, a rank above every rank, a dignity above all 
the dignities to which I could aspire, — the quality of Thy 
spouse. And it was to this title, this eminent quality that 



OX THE GRACE OF A RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 241 

Thou wast pleased to raise me, although I had already 
rendered myself un worthy of it, although I had been 
most ungrateful and unfaithful to Thy first liberalities ! 
Thus, my Saviour, Thou didst display in me the riches 
of Thy grace, and Thy adorable mercies, deigning to 
make me enter into so close an alliance with Thee ! Ah ! 
these are not pure ideas, nor brilliant chimeras, sometimes 
formed in sleep by flattering dreams. They are truths full 
of all that is real and solid in the world. In giving my- 
self to Thee, Thy divine word assured me, that Thou 
gavest Thyself to me as my portion and inheritance ; that 
after having purified me Thou didst espouse me in the 
virtue of Thy Blood ; that in giving me the title of Thy 
spouse, a name, which like Thine, O Jesus, is above every 
name, Thou didst make me enter into a participation of 
Thy riches and greatness ; that I might receive the pledge 
and assurance of sharing with Thee, as much as a simple 
creature is capable of, the throne on which Thou art seated 
in heaven ; and that, according to the laws which Thou hast 
established, I have, as Thy spouse, a right to all that belongs 
to Thee ! In giving me Thy Hand, Thou didst give me 
Thy Heart, with a right over Thyself and Thy benefits ! 
Ah ! this is truly the gift of God ; why can I not under- 
stand and feel it, or at least know it in all its extent ! 

O magnificence, eternally memorable ! O immense love 
of my God for me, why is not my love and my gratitude 
as exhaustless as my Benefactor and His benefits? I 
cast myself at Thy feet, O my God, and since Thou 
wiliest it, and it is permitted me to say it, O my divine 
Spouse! In imitation of the Blessed Virgin, the first of 
Th}- spouses, O Lord my God, my soul glorifies Thee, 
because Thou hast regarded the lowliness of Thy hand- 
maid, and hast done great things in me ! What can I 
render Thee, O liberal God? When the world calls, 
although it makes only victims, with what eagerness is it 
followed, and with what ardor is it served! Thus should 
I follow and seive Thee, O Lord ! But alas ! how slowly 
and with what reserve have I followed Thee? What a 
hateful spectacle presents itself to my eyes, in the suc- 
cession of my years, in the tepidity of my life, in the 
darkness of my conscience? I should have loved Thee, 
16 



242 ON THE OB ACE OF A RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 

not in words, but in deed and in truth, as Thy favorite 
disciple says ! What have I done, and what have I felt 
for Thee, Lord, but some imperfect sentiments, some 
transient desires, some interior emotions, soon interrupted ! 
I have sung Thy praises, but without attention, without 
fervor. I have done some apparent works, but in them 
temperament, humor and my own will, perhaps, had more 
part than the impulse of Thy grace ! 

What ruled in the secret of my will, and by what was 
my soul governed? By this Thou wilt judge me, O 
Searcher of hearts ! In all events, has Thy love, or my 
self love directed me? Has religious humility or pride 
animated me? Has Thy grace or have my senses deter- 
mined my actions? How many faults so often pardoned, 
and so often repeated ! Alas ! instead of honoring and 
glorifying Thee in this holy state, I have rendered myself 
like those foolish virgins, spoken of in the Gospel, who, by 
their negligence, caused themselves to be repudiated ! O 
divine Spouse ! I deserve to be rejected and abandoned by 
Thee. I am unworthy that Thou shouldst receive me 
again. Give me a place in Thy heart, and form with me a 
new alliance. Yet, whence comes this humiliating confu- 
sion which overwhelms me, this lively sensibility which 
fills me with remorse for my infidelities? What, Lord ! 
after all my ingratitude and so much abuse of Thy grace, 
Thou wishest still to confide in me, recalling me to Thee ! 
Ah ! permit me to say to Thee with tears, may I die or 
change, for after so many favors I can no longer consent 
to displease Thee. But in this alternative of death or 
change, what would become of me, if I should die without 
conversion ? Change me, O my God, and attach me invio- 
lably to Thyself ! Let me at least render Thee all I can, 
if not all I owe Thee ! 

Alas ! what should I have been in the world, if I had 
remained there? It is easy to judge, by what I am in 
religion. Would I have thought, acted, and spoken 
differently from so many others there? Would not the 
example of the multitude have led me astray? Would 
not the fear of rendering myself singular, of drawing upon 
myself reproaches, have subjected me to customs which, 
perhaps, I would interiorly have detested and condemned ? 



OX THE ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 243 

I have all the weakness and imperfections of my state. 
Would I not have had all the crimes of a perverted world, 
if by a special grace Thou hadst not withdrawn me from 
that unhappy Babylon ? Immortal thanks be to Thee, O 
Lord ! for the precious benefit of my vocation, of which 
I perceive, more than ever, the value. Thou hast called me 
through love and mercy, O my God, and in return I will 
love Thee with my whole heart and soul. My heart is 
Thine, divine Spouse, and it thall be Thine without reserve ! 
No more creatures to attach it, no more interests to debase 
it, no more objects to divide it ! Console me or try me, 
and Thou shalt be equally served and loved. "Were there 
no other paradise, is it not one to love Thee? What has 
it not cost Thee to overcome my un worthiness in the past 
and the present? I promise Thee, O my God, that 
nothing will hinder me from overcoming my weakness, 
and inclinations ; do Thou render my promises efficacious ! 
Thou dost proportion Thy graces to my misery, imper- 
fection and needs. I will conform myself to Thy views 
and designs. I will rectify by my fidelity, what might 
have been natural and human in my choice, and what has 
been criminal and defective in my daily conduct. Thou 
hast triumphed, I will unite my strength to Thine, to 
attach myself intimately to Thee forever ! 



NINTH DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. — ON THE ADVANTAGES OF THE 
RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

First Point. 

" And I will espouse thee to me in justice, and judgment, and in 
mercy, and in commiserations." — Osee ii., 19. 

How august is this alliance, which the God of glory and 
of majesty, has formed with the religious soul ! It is an 
alliance of justice which has piety for its principle, and 
perfection for its object. Everything in it is just ; all is 



214 ON THE ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

holy. Purity is its foundation, graces are its ornament, and 
the motives which lead to it do not partake of flesh and 
blood, but, if we may so speak of the divinity. The 
benefits and pleasures to which it leads, have in them noth- 
ing mean or terrestrial. Candor, peace, union, charity, 
wisdom, are its appendages. It extends its right even to 
heaven, and its bonds, which death cannot sever, are con- 
secrated by eternit} T . What an alliance, in which every- 
thing tends to virtue, and conspires to real happiness ! 
It is an alliance of judgment which condemns the world, 
confounds its baseness, and vain pretexts. It is an 
alliance of mercy, which is a source of confidence and joy 
in the Lord. It consoles in pains, supports in weakness, 
gives God Himself for a Protector and Guide, shelters 
from all evils, fills with all blessings, and preserves from 
the thunderbolt, which strikes and overturns the tents of 
sinners. There is no danger, no temptation, no pain 
over which it does not triumph. What surer way 
for salvation? What state freer from cares and solici- 
tudes? What rich treasures hidden in this fertile 
field? Divine graces, and consolations, good examples, 
holy emulations in the practice of all virtues ; salutary 
conversations which reanimate or increase the sacred fire 
of divine love; exercises of piety which succeed each 
other, meditations, prayers, pious readings, frequent 
approach to the Sacraments, retreats, instructions, duties 
which have their prescribed time and limits, all thrive with- 
in this garden. What a fruitful source of all benedictions ! 
Chanty, joy, peace, patience, meekness and goodness, 
happy fruits o'f the Holy Ghost, which make of all the 
members, but one body, one heart, and one soul; treas- 
ures, so much the more precious as they are inexhaustable, 
supplying abundantly every spiritual want, and increasing 
in proportion as they are used. 

St. Francis of Sales says, that the sovereign happiness 
of man is properly contained in two objects, a holy life 
and a holy death, and such is the felicity of the religious 
soid. She finds in her state the inestimable advantages 
of living more holily than in the world, and of dying in a 
greater assurance of her salvation. She enjoys in religion, 
if she has its spirit, a foretaste of the eternal happiness 



ON THE ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 245 

which awaits her. Everything is for her a means of 
sanctification ; even her innocent recreations are turned 
into pious exercises. Should she make a false step, she 
is warned, supported, assisted to rise, and has not time to 
sink deep into the abyss. In the asylum of her safety 
and salvation, vigilance is prescribed her, mortification 
commanded, a victory over her passions, and hatred of 
self indispensable. She therefore makes incessant war 
against herself, deals mortal blows against her self-love, 
and in this combat and self-destruction she finds the 
germ of peace, and the sweetness of purest consolations. 
What can afflict or trouble her repose, without or within? 
Within there are subjections, submission, dependance, 
rules, observances, and customs, it is true ; but these are 
loving bonds which she has chosen, and which she 
cherishes ; sweet chains which her God, Himself, has 
imposed upon her, and which honor her more than they 
bind her. Without, there are indifference, neglect, con- 
tempt, persecutions ; but she expected these, and sees in 
them the glorious portion of a faithful spouse of a crucified 
God. Around her are privations, humiliations, death 
and sacrifice ; but what are these to her, who desires 
still greater? She has combats to sustain, but God, 
Who views her efforts, changes her desert into a land of 
promise, where milk and honey flow in abundance, and 
the sweetest unction issues from the hardness of the rock, 
that is from the severity of the rules and observances she 
must practice. The imagination captivated by custody- 
of the senses is filled with the purest lights. Her body, 
reduced to servitude, acquires a kind of vigor, preferable 
to the delights of life. Her mind, subjected by a holy 
recollection, and restored to the ingenuousness of child- 
hood by the abandonment of a reason merely human, be- 
comes more fitted for the sweet communications of the Holy 
Ghost. Her will, restrained by vows, is so much the 
more free, as she keeps it confined in its bonds. Her 
quality of Spouse of Jesus Christ, fills with an inex- 
pressible sweetness, the bitterness of the chalice, which 
she shares with her Spouse. In this abode of reli- 
gion, the sorrows of Calvary and the joys of Thabor 
are united for her : in the midst of the furnace of a 



246 ON THE ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOUS llFJE. 

purifying fire, she is refreshed by the gentle dew of 
heaven. She experiences a mystical martyrdom, the 
wound of which is more delicious than painful ; and the 
divine pleasures which inebriate her are of such a nature, 
that all the revolutions of the earth, and all the efforts of 
hell cannot alter them. Divine pleasures ! the foretaste 
and pledge of eternal felicity ! 

What contentment is enjoyed in a condition, where 
with the happiness of loving God, and the pleasure of 
enjoying Him, we have the assurance of possessing Him 
forever ! The religious soul, peaceful and retired, 
sheltered from the storm as in a safe port, occupies 
herself with the sole care of serving her God. She 
sanctifies even the most human actions by referring 
them to His love. She askes herself incessantly, is God 
pleased with me? Do I love Him as I ought? Am I 
faithful to His graces? Holy disquiets, which are not 
barren and hurtful thorns that stop her in the way, but 
rather a pressing stimulus that increases her love for the 
service of God. Happy, then, the soul who has placed a 
wall of eternal separation between herself and the world ! 
Happy the soul, who has sacrificed all that it was not 
permitted her to love ! Who has diminished her pains, 
by diminishing her attachments ! Who has died to 
everything, before everything died to her ! Happy : a 
thousand times happy, to have consecrated herself to a 
God who has chosen her, to take up his abode in the 
midst of her heart, and to establish there an eternal peace 
and serenity. " The sanctuary in which she dwells," says 
St. Francis of Sales, " is ^ delicious paradise, which has 
about it something comparable to the happiness of the 
earthly paradise." May we not add that it has this advan- 
tage over the first paradise ? The earthly paradise rendered 
an innocent soul guilty, whereas, this renders the guilty, as 
it were, innocent. The first was like a barren plain, ex- 
posed to the inflamed darts of Satan ; whereas, this 
is like a land surrounded by mountains and forts, which 
the enemy can reach only with difficulty, and which 
presents on all sides ramparts almost inaccesible to his 
attacks ; that is to say, where temptations are less, and 
helps greater. It is a holy habitation which is a preserva- 



U2T THE ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 247 

tive against all that is most contagious and mortal in the 
world ; against those flattering illusions, which so agreeably 
charm the eye, but which soon, lead to the precipice. 
It is the surest preservative against those false maxims 
so often condemned in the Gospel, but established in 
the world as incontestable principles and followed as 
sure rules. It is the speediest preservative against that 
tyranny of the passions, which unceasingly awakened, 
and excited in the world b} T all that strikes the senses, abso- 
lutely destroys in the soul even the empire of reason. 
It is, finally, the most certain preservative against those 
criminal attachments, those vicious habits, which rise so 
quickly, alas ! but which it costs so much to uproot ; 
against those falls of worldlings so deep and so frequent. 
Here, b} T evangelical abnegation, the religious soul has no 
treasures to amass, no rights to defend, no interests to 
preserve, no injuries to repair, no dignity to support, no 
fortune to acquire, no rival to humble ; consequently, she 
is perfectly disengaged from all those selfish views and 
desires, those agitations, and in a word, from the injustice 
with which the world is filled. "It is in this enclosed 
garden," says St. Francis of Sales, that the Spouse of 
Jesus Christ bears fruit for life eternal. In this happy 
land she is planted, as it were, by the hand of God, 
watered by His grace, nourished by the unction of His 
gifts, pruned by the knife of penance, cultivated by con- 
tinual cares, sheltered from the storms of the world, and 
bears in abundance the fruits of virtue." How advan- 
tageous it is, then, to live in so holy and tranquil a state, 
where charity, that has grown cold in the world, seems 
to revive its holy ardors ; in a state, where one lives like a 
pure spirit, where the soul is detached from the body 
without being separated from it, where disinterested 
hearts divest themselves of everything, to be enriched 
with future hopes ; where they rest in the enjoyment of 
God, and find in Him the truth which enlightens them, the 
life which animates them, the eternity which supports 
them, the charity which rules and bums within them ; hearts 
that feel a holy impatience at the length of their exile, and 
ardently desire to break the bonds which keep them upon 
earth; hearts whose love is so fervent, that they can 



248 ON THE ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

scarcely support its ardor ; whose love is so constant, that 
they carry it in conversation, labors, employments, watch- 
ings, sleep even, like the Spouse in the Canticles, whose 
heart was occupied with God, whilst she allowed some 
repose to her body. 

Second Point. 

Ah ! the benefit of a religious vocation passes for one 
only grace, but what a multitude of graces there in that one ! 
Is there a single day in which I do not receive more than 
a person in the world receives, perhaps, in the course of a 
whole year? If I were faithful to them, to what degree 
would they not still be multiplied? What return shall I 
not make for so manj T benefits? Ye Angels of Heaven ! 
Ye heavenly hosts of the Most High ! supply my incapa- 
city ; bless the Lord for so many and so signal favors ! 

I am no longer my own, I am no longer the world's but I 
am Jesus Christ's. What a happiness, what a glory ! how 
enviable is my faith ! O blessed bonds, which unite me to my 
God ! how dear you are to me, how precious ! Yes, my 
chai.is by retaining me in servitude, cause me to enjoy true 
liberty. O sacred bonds, formed by love, will I ever wish 
to break You ! Ah ! rather, a thousand times, add new ones 
and strengthen them more and more. Thou hast placed me 
in the number of Thy Spouses, O Lord, and what dost Thou 
not expect from my fidelity ? If there can be on earth a 
mark of predestination, it is that of being called to a state 
so holy and so proper to fulfil the designs of Thy mercy in 
my regard. But if I be unfaithful to Thee, O Jesus, and lose 
that peace destined for me i/i heaven, a place far elevated 
above that reserved for the generality of the faithful, will not 
the very centre of hell be my place, and will not all the efforts 
of Thy just anger, be exhausted upon me? Overwhelm- 
ing thought ! But there is another still more horrible 
to me, O my God ! it is the loss of Thy love, the priva- 
tion of the sight of Thee. Thou hast chosen me, O my 
divine Spouse ; Thou hast called me to reign eternally 
with Thee, and to love Thee without measure and without 
end ; from this moment, therefore, my conversation and 
my love shall be in heaven. Far be it from me to take 
back anything I have given Thee, sacrificed or consecra- 



ON THE ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 24 ( J 

ted to Thee. I am all Thine, Jesus, and every day I 
will renew the offering. I am Thine, and it shall be all my 
glory, and consolation during life, and at death, to be 
entirely Thine. Reign in my heart, dispose of it, as a 
thing that belongs to Thee. I have nothing more in com- 
mon with the world ; but Thou art mine, and this is the 
source of my confidence, which shall not be confounded. 
I offer Thee all, O God, from whom I have received all ; 
I consecrate to Thee, anew, not only the fruits of the 
tree, but the tree itself, with all the fruits it shall produce. 
My body shall be a victim ever living and ever dying for 
Thy love ; my liberty will be my rule ; my will, will be my 
superior who alone can dispose of me ; and these senti- 
ments will no longer vary. Ah ! should I have a century, 
an eternity to live, I will be constantly Thine, O Lord. 
Neither health nor sickness, nor trials, nor consolations, 
shall ever separate me from Thee. 

This would be promising much if I relied upon my own 
strength ; but Thou, O Lord, wilt speak to my heart, and 
Thy grace will fix my inconstancy. Ma} T I not expect 
eveiything from Him, who has delivered me from so many 
evils? What would have been my fate in the world? 
Without doubt that of the unfortunate persons who live in 
it. If they experience want, their whole life is spent in 
acquiring and preserving what their cupidity, or their 
necessities require. How mauj T disquietudes, mortifi- 
cations, labors, and often crimes ! Have they the leisure 
or the thought to serve Thee, O my Goa? At death, they 
appear before Thy dread tribunal, without having labored 
at the one thing necessary. If they are prosperous, 
according to the world, they think only of enjoying the 
present good ; slaves of its corrupt maxims and customs ! 
They pass their time in a succession of amusements, good 
cheer, useless or dangerous conversations, jealousies, ani- 
mosities, sins, and a profane forgetfulness of eternity ; this 
would have filled my life ; this is what I would have done. 
My natural love of an easy and comfortable life, human 
respect, and the example of others would certainly have 
drawn me away. The difficulty I now find in overcoming 
nryself , although in the midst of the greatest helps, is a 
proof to me, that in the world, I should never have over- 



250 ON THE ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOCS HPM. 

come myself. How advantageous then, for me to have 
been withdrawn from temptation, to be entirely occupied 
in serving and pleasing Thee, my God ; a tranquil pleasure 
which leaves no void, no remorse, no sin, after it ; a 
pleasure which will magnificently indemnify me for every 
pains. 

I am relieved of all disquieting care of my conduct. In 
the world each one is his own God. He consults only 
interest, humor or passion. He does aud wishes what 
pleases him, for the only reason that it pleases. In the 
world, even among the most devout persons, who allow that 
a rule of conduct should be observed, are there many who 
consult God, who listen to Him when He commands, or 
who obey when He speaks? Here I have my rules and 
the orders of my superiors, and in conforming to them, I 
am sure that I am in order, and that I please Thee, O my 
God ; and what tranquility and consolation are produced 
thereby ! No evil can happen to me, or if it should I am 
sure, O Lord, that Thou wilt make it tarn to my good. 
Thou knowest all, and Thou canst do all : Thou lovest me, 
and I love Thee. May Thy will be accomplished in me, 
in life and in death ; in time and in eternity ; it is what I 
have asked and will ask of Thee, until my last breath. 

lam delivered from the vicissitudes of natural incon- 
stancy. The bond which I have formed fixes my will 
It is no longer permitted me to do, what it would be useful to 
will. Temptation may come, but it will pass. Nature 
will be calmed. And how many times will I bless the 
Lord for having closed all the doors to a humiliating and 
dangerous relapse. Happy/ necessity, which constrains 
me to that which is best and most perfect. Should I ever 
think of turning back; the great step has been taken, 
there remains only to continue it to the end. Without 
such an engagement I could not answer for myself a 
single day. My past inconstancy has taught me this but 
too well. But my need does not render my sacrifice less 
meritorious. I am bound because I will it, and I will 
never cease to will it. Thou canst not, O my God, either 
sin or do anything unworthy of Thyself; art Thou less 
free? The more impossible evil beeomes to me, the more 
is my freedom like Thine. My profession renders it, as 



ON THE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE HELIGIOVS LIFE. '2i)l 

much as my fragility permits, impossible to me. Ah ! 
that J could make it still more impossible. Immutable 
God, do Thou steady my inconstancy ! Eternal God 
make me love more and more my sweet and amiable 
necessity. Finally, of what reward does not m}' religious 
profession assure me? A hundred-fold is promised me. 
Thy word is given, and heaven will fail rather than 
Thy word. But what is this hundred-fold? To know 
the fragility and dangers of worldly goods, to enjoy heaven- 
ly things, to have the repose of a pure and innocent con- 
science, to hear God within my heart, to feel His assist- 
ance, His strength, the abundance of His lights, an 
inundation of consolations. What favors ! Ah! my only 
attention, then, shall be to renounce all, more in heart, than 
in reality ; for it is to this the hundred-fold is promised. 
If I have had pain has it not always been when I wished 
to divide my heart or spare myself. No more reserve, 
no more division, Lord. Thou art mine, and I am Thine, 
only, and forever. 



NINTH DAY. 

THIRD MEDITATION. — ON THE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE 
RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

First Point. 
" Thou art all Mine." Cant. 

It is to every religious, as well as to the Daughter 
of Sion, that these lively and touching words are addressed. 
4 ' Thou art all Mine," says Jesus Christ to her, that is to say, 
you should be no more to the world, to seek or possess its 
wealth ; you should no longer hold to flesh and blood, to 
consult its desires ; you should no longer be your own, to 
follow your own will. You have sacrificed to Me, the 
advantages of the world, by an unreserved renunciation ; 
your senses by a spotless purity ; your heart by a full and 
faithful submission. These are the engagements com- 
prised in your vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. 



252 ON THE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

These vows you have formed freely, and you should fulfil 
them faithfully. By them, you have given Me every right 
over you, and thus you have become all Mine. 

Thus a religious is all to God ; that is, she is dead to 
the world and its advantages. She has no longer any 
treasures but in heaven, and where her treasure is, there, 
also, must be her heart. Happy poverty, which in divest- 
ing her of all ownership, in taking from her, earthly pos- 
sessions, has enriched her with heavenly gifts. Happj T 
exchange of some frail and transient goods of earth, for 
the solid possessions of heaven, alone worthy of her desires, 
as they alone are capable of satisfying them. How many 
advantages in one ! Disengaged from those movements 
which degrade the soul, she can, she ought to collect in 
God alone, her affections and her thoughts ; to make no 
use of her mind, but to adore Him ; of her heart but to 
love Him ; of her senses but to sacrifice them to Him ; of 
her voice, but to sing His praises ; of all that she is, but 
to consecrate it to His glory. She has generously trampled 
under foot, the idol of fortune, which blind mortals adore, 
to possess a real treasure, which, as St. Paul says, is a 
piety that is contented with what is necessary. Far from 
her, then, a false prudence, which would make her retain 
a small portion of the holocaust. Far from her a secret 
reservation, which would lead her to arrogate to herself, 
the right of disposing of something, and of procuring her- 
self, gratifications and distinctions, odious in a place, 
where a perfect equality should reign. She has renounced 
all property, therefore she should desire nothing ; like the 
sacred tribes, devoted to the/ service of the altars, which 
the Lord had especially reserved to Himself, she has no 
other portion to expect but God Himself ; a precious 
inheritance of which nothing can rob her. Woe to her, 
then, if after having tasted the gift of God, she should fall 
back into the snare of her desires. Self-love greedy and 
timid, always fears to be in want. The more one takes 
from it, the more it endeavors to take back with one hand, 
what escaped by the other. It is inexhaustible in fine 
pretexts ; it folds itself like a snake ; it takes all forms ; 
it invents a thousand new wants to flatter delicacy, and 
to authorize relaxation ; it compensates itself in detail, for 



ON THE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE, 253 

the sacrifices which have been in general. It retrenches 
in a piece of furniture, a habit, or some article of 
dress, a book, a mere nothing. It holds to an employment 
a mark of confidence or of esteem, or a vain friendship. 
These things are for it, in the place of honors, riches, and 
ranks which the ambitious of the world pursue. Every- 
thing that savors of individuality, every sort of distinction, 
everything that consoles pride, everything that nourishes 
as remains of the natural life, and sustains this self, it seeks 
with great avidity ; this it preserves, it fears to lose, it art- 
fully defends. Far from abandoning it, when reproached 
with it, it cannot resolve to acknowledge it. It is more 
jealous on this point than a miser ever was of his treasures. 
Thus does it reduce poverty to a mere name, and change 
the great sacrifices of piety into mere illusions. Happy, 
then, the true spouse of Jesus Christ, who, always on her 
guard against her self-love, practises the perfect abne- 
gation which her Spouse consecrated upon the cross ! She 
has joyfully renounced all her pretensions in the world ; 
she does not cast the least look towards what she has left, 
and what she might have hoped for. Her deprivation is 
perfect ; there is no rapine in the holocaust. Poor in 
effect, she is also poor in will, by the renunciation of all 
that is created, of every natural talent, of even the most 
lawful treasure, and of which we are most jealous ; I 
mean of her own judgment, her own wisdom. This entire 
privation, of the advantages and possessions of the world, 
is the first engagement of a religious. 

In the second place, she is all to God ; she can ho longer 
hold to flesh and blood, or consult its desires. It is little 
for her to free herself from the tyranny of the passions, 
and to avoid their excesses. To unite herself tiuly, and 
to merit to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, 
everything in her must be subordinate to the severe rules 
of the most exact modesty. Her senses are subject to 
the spirit, and her spirit to God. Her eyes, closed to 
vanity, are open only to heaven ; her lips speak only the 
language of the angels ; her ears listen only to the 
wonders of the Lord, and to the truths of eternal life ; 
her imagination retraces only pure and holy images ; her 
heart, purified from every human affection, is a sanctuary 



254 ON THE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

where Jesus Christ dwells in peace, and where He continues 
the sacrifice of His love ; or rather, infinitely superior 
to her body, she keeps this in servitude ; she gives it only 
what is needful to keep it from dying ; separated from the 
flesh, though iutimately united to it, she so abandons her- 
self to Jesus Christ that she no longer sees, but by Him, 
she hears but by Him, she speaks by Him, she enjoys no 
pleasures but those which are found in Him. There is 
only one passion she cultivates ; it is the love of her 
divine Spouse. This love rules over all her other passions ; 
it extends to all places, to all times, to all her thoughts, 
to all her desires, to all her actions. This love forbids her 
all effusion of the heart, every marked predilection. " She 
loves nothing that her heavenly Spouse does not love," 
says St. Francis of Sales, k ' and what she does love, it is 
with no other love than His. By the august alliance she 
has contracted with her God, she knows that she is no 
longer mistress of herself. She belongs to Him by a 
solemn donation, of which a chaste aud constant love has 
been the principle, and of which an inviolable fidelity 
must be the bond." Thus detached from herself to be 
all to her Spouse, she immolates her body for Him, as He 
immolated His for her. If she cannot offer her body, a 
bloody sacrifice as Jesus Christ did on the cross, because 
this advantage is for martyrs, she, at least, makes the 
sacrifice, which Jesus Christ offers for her on the Altar. 
Although there is nothing bloody in the Eucharist, our 
Saviour is there, as it were, in a state of death. It seems 
as if His soul was separated from His body, since the 
body appears without motion/, life, or action. Thus she, 
herself appears. She is, as it were, dead under the veil 
which prevents her seeing or being seen ; there is no 
motion, no action, which does not announce that the body 
is dead, and that it is the spirit which lives in her. But 
she carries perfection still farther. After having passed 
from the separation from all possessions, to the separation 
from the body, she proceeds from the separation of the 
body to that of the will, which is another engagement of 
her alliance with Jesus Christ. 

All to Jesus Christ ! she is no longer her own, to follow 
her own will. A faithful obedience consecrates her whole 



021 THE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 255 

heart to Jesus Christ, and He alone regulates all its 
motions. This obedience is more agreeable to God than any 
sacrifice, as He Himself says. In sacrifice He sees but the 
blood of animals flowing for his glory ; by obedience, 
He sees flowing the blood of our own hearts. By obedience 
we immolate to Him our own souls. What a glory, for a 
Religious to subject the pride of her mind to the will of a 
God, Whom to obey is to reign ! What an advantage for 
her no longer to use her liberty, according to her humor 
or caprice, but to have divested herself of it, in the .hands 
of her superiors, the organs and interpreters of her heav- 
enly Spouse ! She uses her reason only to blind it and sub- 
ject it to orders which may even appear to her whimsical 
and unjust. She has no longer, of herself, either senti- 
ment, desire or self-will. Notwithstanding the good opin- 
ion, we naturally have, of our own sense ; notwithstanding 
the defects which pride always discovers in those on whom 
we depend • notwithstanding the vivacity of passions and 
inclinations, which excite a repugnance for the things 
commanded, she acts, as if she neither saw nor felt any 
thing, and like a blind and insensible instrument, which has 
no motion but the will of him who employs and directs it. 
Thus divested of her own wisdom, she enjoys the true 
liberty of the children of God, who go, like Abraham, 
without knowing whither. Happy, because she no longer 
depends upon herself ; that is to say, upon that blind and 
unjust master, who renders us independent of God, and 
proprietors of His gifts ; she has no longer any will, any 
self-opinion ; she does not examine the motives of her 
superiors; she discharges her conscience upon theirs; she 
obeys with the candor aud simplicity of a child, and suffers 
herself to be conducted, without reasoning, foreseeing or 
inquiring. O how sweet is the peace produced by this 
happy self-abnegation. 

Second Point. 

Yes, Lord, I have promised Thee, and taken heaven to 
witness my vow I have promised to live for Thee in the 
practice of poverty, chastity, and obedience ; and it is upon 
these conditions that Thou hast given Thyself to mc, as my 



256 ON THN ENGAGEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

portion and inheritance ; that Thou hast espoused me in 
faith, in the plenitude of Thy grace. But, 0, my God ! I 
have abused Thy favors; I have broken the alliance 
which Thou hast formed with me by failing in the word I 
have given Thee. Perfidious and unfortunate as I am, I 
merit that Thou shouldst reject and abandon me forever. 
I have promised Thee, O Jesus, to imitate the poverty 
which Thou didst embrace for the love of me ; but alas ! 
have I not been more eager for trifles, than people in the 
world are for things of greater importance? I have 
renounced all possessions, but have I not sought even 
superfluity, when it flattered my taste? Have I experi- 
enced what it is to be poor like Thee, that is to say, poor 
by coarse food, poor by the necessity of working, poor 
by the simplicity of clothing, poor in all the details of my 
life? Am I not, on the contrary, occupied with myself in 
all circumstances? Have I not satisfied my delicacy 
either by preventing its wants, or by listening to self in 
the least infirmities. Far from leading a simple, in- 
digent, active and courageous life, have I not sought to 
make for myself in the bosom of religion, a more com- 
fortable state, than that which I left in the world? 
AVhat a scandalous greediness for the goods of the earth 
have I not shown, perhaps under pretext of the interest 
of the community ; as if the community was anything but 
an assemblage of individuals, who have renounced every- 
thing ; as if the disinterestedness of the individuals 
should not render the whole community disinterested? 
Is it thus I have imitated Jesus Christ, Who far from being 
born in pomp as were the Caesars, had only the stable for 
His palace, the shop of a carpenter for His retirement, the 
charity of the people for His means of subsistence, some 
alms for His riches ; Who, lying at first in a manger, had 
not afterwards whereon to rest His head, Who died naked 
and destitute on a cross? How little conformity I have 
with Thee, O my heavenly Spouse ! What wants have I 
that are not satisfied ? Does my poverty share in the shame 
and dishonor, which almost always accompany poverty in 
the world? Is not mine ennobled by its motive; and 
does not religion, which is its principle, seem to commu- 
nicate that air of greatness and dignity which belongs to 



ON THE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 257 

it? Is not that yoke sweet and light at which, perhaps, I 
murmur? Do J not find everything in the house without 
needing anything from without, not being exposed to the 
reverses of fortune, without being the slave of tyrannical 
customs, without any risk of losing, without any need of 
gaining, in fine, being very sure of never wanting any- 
thing, but a superfluity, that would give me more trouble 
than pleasure. Could I boast of finding more in my 
family ? Would J not be poorer in the midst of my 
pretended riches, than I am here, after having divested 
myself of everything? O my God, give me a new heart ! 
a heart worthy of Thee, a heart the enemy of all property ; 
a heart which Thou mayest satisfy ; a heart which delights 
in detaching itself, in depriving itself more and more of 
superfluities, desires and possessions. Instruct, touch, 
speak and make me feel, to the bottom of my soul, how 
happy they are, who are not attached to anything here 
below. 

Oh precious liberty ! which I enjoy by the vow of chastity, 
which renders me independent, as says St. Paul, of the 
tribulations of the flesh ! I have chosen a Spouse, Who 
cannot die ; in Whom I shall never see any shadow of 
imperfection ; Who loves me, and wishes to render me 
happy by His love. I have only to fear not loving Him 
enough, or loving that which He does not love. But how 
have I observed this law of love, by which alone, a soul 
can be pure and worthy of the nuptials of the sacred 
Lamb? Has not my unfaithful heart been open to Thy 
enemies, O my divine Spouse? Chastity of the body is 
good only inasmuch as it produces that of the mind. 
Otherwise it would be reducing religion to a corporal pri- 
vation, to a judicial practice. In subduing the flesh, have 
I rendered my spirit more free and more fervent in Thy 
love, O my God ; and have I not sullied my heart by 
worldly affections ? How could I thus irritate Thy jealousy, 
after so many promises of fidelity ! How could I be tired 
of being Thine, since Thou art never tired of being mine ' 
Could I become weary of Thee, in spite of Thy infinite 
perfections, when all imperfect as I am, it is Thy delight 
to remain with me, and to entertain with my soul a holy 
communication, an association, as it were, of interests 



258 ON THE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

and possessions ! Ah ! Lord, render me faithful ; secure 
my frailty ; increase my strength in proportion to my 
obligations ! Grant that I may be more attentive to second 
the effects of Thy grace ; to correspond to Thy tender- 
ness, and to guard carefully, the sacred fire, which should 
be burning at Thy arrival. Establish me forever in Thy 
love, and in the obedience I have vowed to Thee. 

How many times have I failed in dependence on my 
superiors ; in the fidelity I owe my rule ; in that renuncia- 
tion of my mind and will, which I have promised? Have 
I not often yielded to my desires, my tyrannical pride and 
false wisdom ? Have I not a thousand times rebelled in 
secret against the yoke which I have assumed'; have I not 
murmured aloud or in my heart against the authority which 
governs me ? Or if, through policy, I have not complained, 
have I not permitted a silent chagrin to fill my heart, in place 
of seeking in a prompt and simple obedience, the calmness, 
repose, and peace, which are its fruits ? But, O my God ! 
is it not Thou alone I should obey in my superiors? Is 
it not Thou alone, Whom I should see in their authority, 
the end and care of which are to provide for all my needs, 
to support me in my weakness to sustain me in my 
temptations and trials? I must obey, but whom? Chari- 
table, compassionate persons, full of tenderness and 
goodness, raised in the school of Jesus Christ, and who, 
after His example, leave commands to the princes of the 
people, reserving to themselves only a ministry of grace 
and charity ; persons, who have no other privilege, than to 
observe the rule with more rigor, and to lighten it as much 
as they can to others; persons, whom I wonid obey from 
inclination, even though duty did not oblige me ; persons 
in whom God permits defects only to correct mine, to 
humble and mortify my too sensitive self-love. How 
then can I withdraw myself entirely or in part from their 
authority? I must obey, but what? A mild rule fixed 
and invariable ; a rule which subjects the body less than 
the mind, which it keeps in perpetual vigilance, which is 
the way of salvation, the abridgment of the Gospel, the 
development of that abnegation which Jesus Christ re- 
commends to all men, and in the literal accomplishment of 
which, says St. Francis of Sales, consists all virtue. How 



ON THE SPIRIT OF THE VISITATION. 259 

could I seek dispensations, modifications, favorable inter- 
pretations, to explain them according to my liking? 
How could I suppose pretexts, imaginary inconveniences, 
chimerical needs to dispense myself? What have been 
the consequences? I have felt the burden because I have 
dragged it ; I have bent under the cross because I have 
not carried it ; I have been unhappy because I have not 
sufficient courage not to be so. Ah ! then, should I not 
fear my own will, more than that of others, or rather more 
than Thine, O Lord ? It is done, O my God ! Happy to have 
only to obey, I will submit forever to Thy good pleasure. 
Every step in my career will be consecrated to obedience ; 
they will mark my advance in the way of my salvation, 
since by this practice, actions, even the most indispen- 
sable to nature, will not be obstacles to my sanctification. 



NINTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE. — ON THE SPIRIT OF THE VISITATION. 

"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of 
the Lord." — Ps. cxviii., 1. 

May est Thou be eternally blessed, O Lord ! Not only 
hast Thou separated me from sinners, but through Thy 
infinite mercy, Thou hast been pleased to associate me 
with holy souls who fear Thee, and whose onl} 7 care is to 
walk in the way, which Thou hast marked for them. Every 
religious vocation is a grace, since it is a choice and pre- 
dilection on the part of God. But among graces, there 
are some special ones, and among vocations there are some 
particular and more favorable ones. All have their 
marked perfection, but it is not the same in all, and some 
have degrees that are not found, or at least not so fully, 
developed in others. Now, such is the advantage of a 
vocation of a Religious of the Visitation ; her Rule, which 
has been specially dictated by the wisdom of God, 
conducts her surely, and as it were, naturally, to the 
highest perfection. 



260 ON THE SPIRIT OF THE VISITATION. 

Now, what is the spirit of this rule? Her holy Founder 
alone can perfectly instruct her on this point. " All 
religious orders," says he, " and all assemblies of devo- 
tion have a spirit that is general to them, and, moreover, 
each one has a spirit that is peculiar to it. The general 
spirit is the desire which they all have, of aspiring to 
the perfection of charity ; but the peculiar spirit is the 
means of attaining this same perfection ; that is the union 
of our soul with God, and with our neighbor for the love 
of God. We unite ourselves to God by uniting our will 
to His ; and we unite ourselves to our neighbor by meek- 
ness, which is a virtue immediately dependant on charity. 
This particular spirit is certainly very different in different 
orders. Some unite themselves to God by contemplation, 
and live in great solitude, conversing as little as possible 
with the world, and not even with each other, except at 
certain appointed times. They unite themselves to their 
neighbor by means of prayer, praying to God for him. 
Some unite themselves to God and their neighbor by means 
of action, although spiritual. They unite themselves to 
God by instructing their neighbor, or by other acts of 
piety ; and the better to do this, they converse with the 
world. They also unite themselves to God by prayer ; but 
their principal end is what we have just said, to endeavor 
to convert souls and unite them to God. Others have a 
severe and rigorous spirit, with a perfect contempt for 
the world and all its vanities and sensualities ; wishing, 
by their example, to inspire men with this contempt for 
earthly things, to which the austerity of their habit and 
exercises contributes. Others in fine, have another spirit. 
. . . But to proceed to the particular end for which our 
Congregation was established, and to comprehend more 
easily what is the spirit of the Visitation ! — I have always 
judged, that it was a spirit of profound humility towards 
God, and a great meekness towards our neighbor, For, 
where there is less rigor for the body, there should be 
more meekness of heart, and where corporal austerity is 
wanting, there should be more perfection of spirit. 
Therefore, humility towards God, and meekness towards 
our neighbor must, with us, supply for the austerities that 
are practised by others. If austerities are good in 



Otf The spirit of The visitation. 2G1 

themselves, and are a means of perfection, they would not 
be good among us, as they would be contrary to our Rule. 
The spirit of meekness is so much the spirit of the Visita- 
tion, that whoever introduces more austerities than are now 
practised in it, would immediately destroy it, as it would 
be going against the end for which it was established. 
Thus humility towards God, and meekness of heart 
towards our neighbor is the true spirit of our Institute. By 
humility we unite ourselves to God, and subject ourselves 
to the exact observance of His will, signified to us in our 
rules. B3' meekness of heart, we unite ourselves to our 
neighbor, in an exact conformity of life, manners and 
exercises, doing neither more nor less than those with 
whom we live, and what is marked out for us, employing 
and limiting all the strength of our soul to do it with all 
possible perfection" 

According to these precepts in which our holy founder 
has described himself, and which so perfectly characterize 
his worth}' imitator St. Chantal, what must be the spirit, 
or rather the conduct of a true Daughter of the Visitation ? 
Humility and meekness are her attributes. Humble before 
the e}~es of the Lord, she sincerely loves obscurity and 
oblivion. She looks upon such a state as a happy pre- 
servative, and avoids everything that could draw her from 
it, and procure her any lustre. She heartily renounces all 
reputation for wit, virtue and merit, which could give her 
any secret complacency. She subjects herself with 
pleasure, to the least functions of the house, fearing 
those which are elevated, a*hd to which some honor or 
authority is attached. In her humble retirement she says 
to herself what the royal Prophet said in humbling 
himself before God in the midst of his triumphs ; I will 
render myself more vile in my own eyes, that I may be 
pleasing in those of the Lord. She sincerely loves depen- 
dence, submits to it with joy, and obeys with humble 
docility. She is neither presumptious, critical, disdainful, 
odd, or extreme in her sentiments. She stifles rising 
jealousies, little researches after her own honor, vain desires 
of pleasing, of succeeding, of being praised, the fear of 
seeing others preferred to herself, the wish of deciding 
and acting for herself, the natural passion of ruling and of 



262 ON THE SPIRIT OF THE VISITATION. 

making her opinions prevail over those of others. She 
forgets what she has-been, to think only of what she is. 
She even rejects from her thoughts the worldly titles 
which she forgot in leaving the world ; she renounces all 
the advantages which she might draw from her talents and 
knowledge. She never prefers herself in any manner, 
even to persons the most destitute of all those qualities, 
natural or acquired, that attract friendship and esteem. 
She prevents others in honor, by deference, and with 
sincere humility, looks upon them all as her superiors. 
In fine, nature is so completely destroyed by grace, that 
she always follows, in detail, the most simple and the 
most humble conduct. She is, in a word, as St. Chantal 
requires, the faithful expression of humility and simplicity ; 
these virtues are the soul of all her actious. Whence 
come these humble sentiments of herself, asks St. Francis 
of Sales? They arise from the knowledge she has, that 
her fervor should as far surpass common piety, as that 
which God has done for her surpasses common benefits. 
She always sees herself very far from the perfection 
that is marked out for her as her end ; could she then 
have a thought of self-complacency or self-esteem? She 
humbles herself, or rather she trembles at the sight of the 
multitude and greatness of her duties. She has to do 
with a God, whose justice she ought to fear, as much as 
she should confide in His goodness ; and Who expects 
from her so much the more fidelit}' and return, as He has 
made her more gifts. T^e nothingness of nature, 
whence she has been drawn,/ and the nothingness of sin 
into which she may fall, incessantly present themselves 
before her eyes She knows that if the Angels were lost 
in heaven, she may be lost in the cloister; that there is 
danger, not only at all times, but also in all places ; and 
that he who does not fear the danger, is not far from bis 
destruction. This is the subject of her meditation, and the 
motive of her humility. She considers that she holds 
everything from God ; that of herself she is nothing ; that 
if she is just, it is God who enriches her with His justice, 
and that if, during a single instant, she turned her eyes 
from her poverty, she would cease to be under the hand 
of her Benefactor. In these sentiments, she has no will 



02T THE SPIHIT OF TffE VISITATION. 263 

but that of others ; she receives no impression, but inas- 
much as it is given her; her obedience is blind, without 
reasoning, prompt without delay, joyful without chagrin. 
So profound a humility is the fruit of prayer, the founda- 
tion of that peace which she enjoys with every one. 
" God resists the proud, and proud men incessantly resist 
each ether," says St. Francis of Sales. Pride is incom- 
patible with pride. Hence, arise those divisions and 
intestine wars that trouble so many communities, and the 
noise of which so often resounds in the world. But, in 
the Order of the Visitation, where each individual must 
humble herself profoundly, all necessarity concur to the 
harmony of a most perfect concert. Under the shadow 
of the same altar all, if they have the spirit of their Insti- 
tute, have but one same heart, because they have but one 
same rule, which is that of humility. Their tranquillity 
is undisturbed, because self-love has no resource among 
them. Calm and peace reign there, because pride has no 
existence. Hence, what charity among the members ! 
What kindness in superiors ! What union of hearts ! 
Each one is eager to anticipate the desires of others, to 
smooth difficulties ; we remark there no disputes but those 
which rise from humility ; and, according to the thought 
of the prophet, peace flows there as a river, because justice 
and humble piety are there like a sea. What meekness, 
what goodness in her who commands ! Formed in the 
school of Jesus Christ, by the lessons of the most 
amiable of saints, before having been placed over 
others, she imitates the condescension of her Divine 
Master and the amiability of her holy founder. She 
rejects, discards from the authority confided to her all 
command and power, to show herself all patience and 'humi- 
lity. By what ravishing charms does she temper the rigor 
of commands ; she carries all the weight of her power, 
and emplo} T s it only for the relief of those she governs. 
Such is, or ought to be, according to St. Francis of Sales, 
even house of the Institute. The assistance of charity, 
attention and foresight should be lavished there. The 
members should love one another reciprocally with a love 
which inspires that of duty, and renders it amiable. They 
should mutually support one another in trial, animate one 



264 ON THE SPIRIT OF TEE VISITATION. 

another in disgusts and bear the yoke together, to lessen its 
weight. Each sister should show herself sensible to the 
afflictions of others, and compassionate their sorrows. She 
should be attentive to their wants, assisting them in their 
weakness ; always read}' to open to them her heart or to 
receive the affliction of theirs ; always disposed to increase 
the number of their days at the expense of her own. All 
should concur by their tenderness and charity, to secure 
to others this blessed result, this true consolation which 
makes the happiness of life and the enjoyment of an 
anticipated paradise. In a word, all hearts should be all 
the more intimately united, as they belong to the same 
Master, and the same interest and hope unites them. This 
charity does not, however, render them indifferent, or 
complaisant to the defects of others. It does not nourish 
weaknesses by flattering them ; but by the aid of advice, 
and wise counsels, it corrects with meekuess, heals with- 
out making a new wound, redresses without aggravating, 
prevents faults or immediately remedies them. Charity, 
by which some interest themselves for others brings us 
near God, attracts his mercy upon the whole body. Each in 
particular offers her fervor, her vigilance, her mortifications, 
to repair and expiate the moments of infidelity and sloth 
into which, more or less all fall. Charity, which unites 
the desires and sighs of each sister, gives a new virtue and 
merit to the prayers of all. This charity renders the love 
of our neighbor more extensive, and more universal, by 
repressing those human friendships, those useless and 
dangerous effusions of the heart, those confidential com- 
munications which only serve to increase uneasiness, and 
excite, murmurs. It represses those particular attachments 
that wound the general union ; those preferences that de- 
stroy an equality of affections, the only source of peace ; 
those private conversations, so injurious to common charity. 
This charity regulates the most useful friendships ; that 
is, an affection for certain persons, whose merit or eminent 
virtues distinguishes them from others. It teaches us to 
be moderated and reserved in these sorts of predilections ; 
it places them at the bottom of our heart ; renders them 
discreet, submissive and moderate, always ready to be 
sacrificed to the general law of charity. It permits them 



ON THE SPIRIT OF TEE VISITATION. 265 

to appear in the exterior, only in as much as is necessar}" 
to mark the esteem, cordiality and gratitude which we 
ought to have. Charity, places limits to the attachment 
we should have for the most zealous and perfect direc- 
tors. It warns a religious against all excess, by remind- 
ing her, that since a director should serve only to accom- 
plish the designs of God over her soul, and to glorify Him 
in her community, it is not permitted her to be attached 
to Him, but in as much as he produces these good 
effects, and with the simple view of the good he may do. 

Such is therefore, the peculiar spirit of the Visitation ; 
a profound humility ; meek and universal charity ; and 
from these two virtues, all others proceed. In the Insti- 
tute of St. Francis of Sales, pride must be a monster. 
The rulesof simplicity are here laws, and laws are here 
manners and customs. In this congregation, distinctions 
are annihilated. The greatest is here the least, depend- 
ence is esteemed happiness, and abjection is here conse- 
crated. In this assembly of the true children of God, 
there should reign a noble poverty, a cheerful penance, a 
polite severity, an amiable sanctity ; the most entire 
contempt for the world and all its customs ; the most pro- 
found recollection, and the most simple intercourse. 

Such was the spirit, such was the life of the illustrious 
and holy Founder of the Visitation, of that man con- 
sumed in God by the fire of contemplation, whose interests 
were all employed in gaining souls to Religion. Such 
was the character of St. Chantal, who was as much dis- 
tinguished by the elevation of her wisdom, as by the sen- 
timents of her heart. 



266 ON PERSEVERANCE. 

TENTH DAY. 

FIRST MEDITATION. — ON PERSEVERANCE. 

First Point. 

"You are witnesses that you, yourselves, have chosen you the 
Lord to serve Him." — Joshua xxiv., 22. 

Joshua, when dying made a last effort to exhort the 
Hebrews to attach themselves inviolably, and with all their 
hearts to God. He wanted no other witnesses or judges 
than themselves. He called upon neither heaven nor earth, 
nor Mount Sinai, nor the Ark of the Covenant, nor the 
shores of the Jordan, nor the ruins of Jericho, nor the 
subdued nations, all irreproachable witnesses ; but he said 
to them : "You are witnesses, that you, yourselves, have 
chosen you the Lord," and that you have promised Him 
a constant love and worship. Thus, in a much stronger 
manner, God seems to say to the religious soul, upon whom 
He has lavished His favors during a retreat : k ' If every 
thing around you did not remind 30U of the engagements 
you have renewed with Me, during these days of grace 
and salvation, do you not hear within yourself a secret 
voice that tells you, that after having freely chosen Me 
anew for your God, your Spouse and your only portion, 
you owe Me the most persevering fidelity ; through grati- 
tude, ou account of the benefits I have bestowed upon 
you ; through justice, on account of the promises you have 
renewed ; through the view of your own interest, on 
account of the dangers, that would follow a relapse. 
What motives for a religious soul ! 

In truth, what is more powerful than benefits to open and 
warm the heart? And what more signal benefits than the 
gifts and graces with which our Lord inundates a re- 
ligious? What return of a lively and generous love! 
What protestations, what offers of service ! What lan- 
guage of the heart, tongue and eyes ! Do they not seem 
endowed with understanding to express the transports of 
gratitude with which they are penetrated? In these 



ON PERSEVERANCE. 267 

movements of gratitude, the religious would do all for her 
Benefactor. She does not allow any of the circumstances 
that can enhance the benefit received to pass unnoticed ; she 
sees nothing equal to His generosity ; she cannot be silent, 
she cannot contain herself; she would wish to render Him, 
if not a similar service, at least a veritable testimony of 
her attachment. If the children of the world are suscept- 
ible of such gratitude, what should not be the movements 
of the heart, the sentiments of the soul and the expressions 
of the love of a religious, for a God, Who, in retreat, has 
lavished upon her so many graces? The greater the 
benefit, the more lively should be the gratitude. What* 
more signal benefit than the help and graces our 
Lord bestowed upon her, after having drawn her into 
solitude? What an abundance of lights have shown 
her all her duties, all her errors, all the beauty of 
virtue, all the necessity of penance, all the horrors of an 
unhappy eternity, all the malice of her faults, all the ex- 
tent of the divine mercy and all the f elicit} 7 of glory ? Is it 
not in retreat that she has penetrated into the inmost re- 
cesses of her heart? and that, with the torches of faith 
and reason, she has discovered all the springs of her 
passions and their danger, the artifices of her self-love and 
its vain pretexts, the frivolous excuses of her nature and 
its cowardice ? Did she not perceive the false and specious 
reasoning suggested by her interest, humor and pride, 
whose deceitful brilliancy had been taken for the splendor 
of truth itself? Is it not, in fine, in profound meditation 
that she has observed and conquered the man} 7 errors of 
conscience, which led her by means of false principles to 
erroneous consequences, and through ignorance, or want of 
reflection on the vows to negligence in keepiug them, 
from negligence to relaxation, from relaxation to a fatal 
tranquillity ; thence to tepidity, and finally, from tepidity 
to real disorders? God has not only enlightened her with 
the strongest lights, but He has also given her the most 
holy impulses, the most pressing solicitations of grace, the 
most tender invitations to sanctity. Oh ! what powerful 
motives to induce the soul to perfect herself more and 
more for the love of her divine Spouse ! What could our 
Lord do more to engage her to be faithful to Him? Rich 



268 ON PERSEVERANCE. 

and powerful as this God of goodness is, could He cany 
farther the magnificence of His benefits? And could this 
ever be sufficiently recognized by the whole life of this re- 
ligious, which is consecrated to the most perfect fidelity ? 

To animate her to perseverance, nothing is better 
than ro recall unceasingly the holy unction, the pure 
delights with which her soul was penetrated in her retreat : 
unction and delights, which, conceived in the heart, can 
be understood only by the heart that enjoys them. Is 
not such a recollection capable of renewing continually 
her fervor, of inflaming it with new ardor, and of urging 
her to fulfil, without change or reserve, the full extent of 
her obligations? But, if the benefits of her God should, 
as so many bonds, attach her to His service, and fill up, 
so to say, the measure of her duties, how many new 
motives in the order of justice should engage her to 
persevere in His grace. 

What has passed between her and her divine Spouse in 
these days of reconciliation ? To be restored to favor, 
she has given Him assurance of her fidelity for the future, 
she has formed resolutions, she has made promises, and 
it is after humiliating declarations, bitter regrets, that she 
has obtained so general a pardon. It was upon these 
conditions that the minister of God absolved her ; and it 
was in the presence of God she repeated them. Now, 
after these solemn promises, sealed with all that is most 
august in religion, with the Body and Blood of Jesus 
Christ Himself, what an outrage would it not be to her 
God, and what a condemnation against herself, should she 
betray them? In the worl^l, people make a religion of 
their promises ; they would blush not to keep their given 
word ; even if it be unjust, they are slaves to it, and will 
not break it. She flatters herself in the cloister, that 
she has a sensitive and tender heart for her sisters and 
for her God, to whom alone this heart should belong. 
She shows nothing but perfidy. She would violate, she 
would recall, even retract the promises that her sighs and 
tears alone should render sacred, if the respect due to 
God, to Whom she made them, did not suffice to prevent 
her from breaking them ; in a word, she could so far 
forget herself, as to renounce them entirely. 



ON PERSEVERANCE. 269 

But if duty and love have led her to the feet of Jesus 
Christ, why do not the nubility, vivacity, and delicacy, of 
the same sentiments keep her there? If she could over- 
come all that opposed her return, why cannot she 
overcome all that opposes her perseverance ? If so many 
holy truths, which have impressed her in her retreat, if so 
many graces with which she has been penetrated are not 
cap*tble of retaining her near God, why have they 
attracted her? or, if they could attract, why do they not 
retain her near Him? And will not God be always the 
same for her? Always equally great, equally amiable, 
equally worthy of her love and worship? His promises 
and His threats, His commandments and His decrees, are 
they not immutable like Himself ? Why then should 
she change that which she has resolved on, after 
so many mature deliberations and reflections? If that 
which touched and frightened her should cease to 
make an impression on her, will it be less touching, less 
frightful in itself, or at the hour of her death? Will not 
the surprises of death be equally dreadful, judgment as 
rigorous, hell as terrible, eternity as long? At the last 
awful moment, will she not see things, as she has seen 
them in retreat? And besides, can she flatter herself that 
she can return to God, if she should stray again ? Has 
she another retreat to make ? more days to live ? Even 
suppose that she has, will she receive more from God? 
Will she see better than she sees now? Will God again 
receive her? Will He not be wearied by her relapse? 

Her own interest is another motive to animate her to per- 
severance. Reconciled with her God, and restord to His 
favor, she enjoys His gifts. Grace, so to say, covers her with 
its wings ; but if by a shameful and serious relapse, if by 
a black perfidy she disowns her obligations, if by a new 
and deliberate ingratitude, she again outrages the divine 
mercy, will she not draw upon herself those terrible 
judgments which God exercises on inconstant souls? 
Our Lord weighs His graces, counts His favors, measures 
His liberalities. Will not an inconstant soul exhaust this 
source of blessings? Lazarus and others whom Jesus 
Christ resuscitated did not come twice from the tomb. 
Their transient resurrection was not repeated ; their 



270 ON PERSEVERANCE. 

second death was for them the last. We see, indeed, 
in the Scriptures, where sinners were converted, but as to 
relapsing sinners, it speaks only of their crimes, rarely of 
their virtues or of their penances. Why so dreadful a 
vengeance? It is because the sin of relapse offends God, 
outrages His perfections, despises His goodness, wearies 
His mercy, and irritates His justice in a more particular 
manner. It is because it adds a new ingratitude, a new 
contempt, a new perfidy, to all the crimes that have pre- 
ceded it. It is because, according to Tertullian, it 
establishes itself as judge between God and the devil ; 
it makes a reparation to the latter for having left him for 
God ; it reproaches God for having pleased Him by 
leaving the devil, whom it esteems more than God ; in a 
word, it repents for having done penance in order to be 
reconciled to God, a repentance as injurious to Jesus 
Christ as it is glorious to the devil. What chastisements 
does not such a sin deserve. We do not, however, wish 
to set limits to the mercy of God. The soul may rise again 
after relapsing, but she will have to overcome many diffi- 
culties : difficulties on the part of God, Who will, perhaps, 
refuse her His grace, or at least a strong and efficacious 
grace ; difficulties on her own part, for, not being able to 
resolve to, do penance, proportioned to her faults, — the 
weight of her bad habits will increase and become, as it 
were, a necessity ; difficulties on the part of the devil, who, 
returning more furious than before, will resume a greater 
power and control over her who has again become his 
slave. These difficulties, in the state to which relapse has 
reduced her, trouble, astonisl/, overwhelm, and disconcert 
her. Thus, perhaps, by degrees, her reprobation will be 
consummated. Incapable of forming a fixed resolution, 
she will wish and not wish, she will resolve and not 
execute, she will begin and not finish. During these vacil- 
lations, time will pass away, graces will diminish, habits 
will be strengthened, sins multiplied, and the more she 
will commit them, the more she will wish to commit them. 
A false confidence will lead her to put off her conversion 
from day to day. From this delay, she will pass to the 
fear of having deferred too long, this fear will lead to 
distrust, distrust to despair, despair to hardness of heart, 



ON PERSEVERANCE. 271 

hardness of heart to impatience, impatience to death, and 
death ! mv God, whither will that lead her? 



Second Point. 

How much. O my God, are relapses to be feared ! How 
terrible theii consequences, effects and chatisements ! 
"What will I not risk, if I render this retreat sterile? To 
what judgment will I not expose myself, if by desertion, 
I abandon Thee, O Lord? What perfidy, what ingrati- 
tude, if by a deliberate relapse, I betra} T my promises and 
despise Thy benefits ! Ah ! it is done, and no longer as 
the transports of a passing fervor. I will commence and 
never again fail in fidelity to Thee. I am — it is true, and, 
in the past, I have had too fatal an experience of it. — I 
am of myself but weakness, levity, and inconstancy ; but, 
supported by grace, whose assistance Thou hast lavished 
on me, in this retreat, and whose sacred unction, power 
and supreme virtue, my heart now feels, what will not be 
ray courage and perseverance? I know all my misery, 
but abyssed in Thy divine mercy, in which I wish to 
dwell, I will be faithful to keep Thee in ni3 T heart and to 
preserve Thy favors, by which I will profit. Thou wilt 
then abide in me and Thou, Thyself, will be my strength 
and constancy. What cannot I do with Thee? I will 
overcome all obstacles, I will face all dangers, I will walk 
with a secure step in the midst of precipices. " Courage," 
says our holy Founder, " will never abandon a soul who 
draws all her strength and generosity from Thy heart." 
On the contrary, her strength increases in proportion as 
difficulties multiply ; it is inflamed with more lively ardor 
as stronger temptations present themselves. Such is the 
spirit which I desire, and with which I wish to be animated 
now and forever. 

To encourage myself, and to avoid the misfortune of a 
deliberate relapse, I will apply myself more than ever to dis- 
cover the illusions which have hitherto caused my incon- 
stancy and wanderings. In seeking what has been the causes 
of my relaxations, I will take means and resolves 
never again to fall. What have hitherto been the principal 



272 ON PERSEVERANCE. 

sources of my relapses? Has it not been my sloth 
and tepidity, which have not wished to do violence to 
self on certain important or difficulties occasions, and 
which make of continued virtue a monster and a 
phantom? Or is it not an immoderate vivacity, which 
does not wish to be constrained, aud which unceasingly 
carried away by an excess of disgust or fits of fervor 
only entertains my caprice and humor? Is it not also the 
effect of my weakness and pusillanimity, which despairing 
of continuing in the practice of good, leads me through a 
weak diffidence in myself to leave it, after having com- 
menced it, which or tells me not to begin, after having 
promised God, for fear of being obliged to abandon it, or, 
finally, which has made me take the most dangerous part 
for salvation, that is, no longer to make promises or resolu- 
tions, through fear of breaking them, an illusion which is 
the positive renunciation of perfection ! In fine, is it not, 
perhaps, because falling into the contrary snare, which is a 
vain confidence in my own strength, God, to punish my 
secret presumption, permits that I should so often fall into 
the greatest infidelities, after the firmest promises and 
resolutions? Whatever it may be, whether tepidity" or 
vivacity, I will overcome the one, I will restrain the other, 
because it is only by this care and these efforts that I can 
prove to Thee, O my God, that I love Thee with my whole 
heart. These promises will be sacred to me, because it is 
to Thee that I make them ; heaven and hell will not make 
me chauge. To triumph over my pusillanimity, or my too 
great confidence in myself, I will distrust my constancy, 
but without weakness or discouragement ; I will confide, in 
Thee alone, but without presumption ; and, however firm I 
may be in the resolution I now take, I will be persuaded 
that, of myself, I will always be weak and, with Thee, 
always constant. 

How have I wandered and what has been the source of 
my relaxation in the spiritual life? Forgetfulness of the 
greatness of my vocation aud the duties of my state. To 
sustain myself in the austere life of my profession, I will 
not lose sight, either of the grace of my vocation, or the 
sanctity of my obligations. Servant, beloved Spouse of 
Jesus Christ, 1 will unceasingly recall my titles and my 



GLV PERSEVERANCE. 273 

duties, the fidelity that a servant owes her master, a friend 
her friend, a spouse her spouse. The faithful servant 
always acts as if she was under the eye of her master, 
considering as a theft every moment of time, which is not 
employed in the service of Him to whom she owes all. As 
a faithful servant, I will always walk in Thy presence, O 
divine Master, Who hast Thy eyes constantly fixed on me. 
The faithful friend always thinks of her friend, is never 
weary of serving her even in the least thing. So, O my 
Beloved, I will observe with constant fervor, the essential 
duties and the smallest obligations of my state. The 
faithful spouse has a heart only for her Spouse, and she 
occupies her mind but with Him, whether He is present 
or absent. So, O, my divine Spouse, dead to the world and 
buried in the cloister with Thee, I will banish from my 
mind and heart every other care but that of pleasing Thee ! 

Giving myself too much to exterior objects has often 
been the cause of my frequent relapses. Alas ! how many 
times has the close union between my heart and 1113 7 senses 
been fatal to me, so that I can say with Jeremiah, " my 
eye has ravished from me my soul !" In leaving my heart, 
I have fallen into relaxation ; by incessantly returning to 
it, I will prevent new infidelities. I will live for the future, 
O my God, as though Thou and I were alone in the world ! 
Solitude of the heart will be for me, what the mysterious 
Ark which floated on the waters of the deluge was to the 
dove. When my mind escapes from me and returns to the 
world, I will look upon it as out of its centre and element ; 
always disquieted, it will repose only when I have recalled 
it. 

The false idea I have formed of the little duties of 
religion has led me insensibly to neglect the greatest. I 
have regarded their practice as useless, under pretext that 
the perfection of virtue does not consist in fulfilling them. 
It is this false judgment, which, after having attacked 
regularity, led me to the greatest relaxation. Convinced 
now, that when an affair is of consequence, all that can 
prevent its loss is important, that from the little we pass 
to the great when we neglect it, I will never voluntarily 
transgress the least observance of my rule. I will permit 
myself nothing light, under pretext that it is not a great sin, 
18 



274 ON PERSEVERANCE. 

because everything is great before Thee, Lord, and what 
is little in itself is often of great consequence in the order 
of Thy eternal decrees. I know not if the grace of 
perseverance is not attached to this least observance, or 
if my loss does not depend on my contempt of it. In a 
word, as there is a strict union between the greatest and 
the smallest observances ; as the greatest depend on our 
exactitude in the smallest, and the smallest are useless 
without the great, I will act in regard to both in the 
manner in which Jesus Christ, Himself, has prescribed, 
acquitting myself of the great, and never neglecting the 
small. 

How many other causes there are, O Lord, of my in- 
constancy in Thy ways ! The withdrawal from Thy sacra- 
ments, my tepidity in receiving them, and the little 
fruit I have drawn from them ; my weak or badly regulated 
devotion for the Blessed Virgin, Thy Mother and mine, 
my tepidity in learning and acquiring the perfection of my 
state, these have led me to such prevarications. I purpose,- 
Lord, to meditate to-day on these great truths, that I may 
form good resolutions. I have been guilty of so many 
relapses, only because I have deferred executing promptly 
what I have promised Thee, O my God. Delay was a 
tacit resolution never to execute them. I will no longer 
permit the ardor of my resolutions or sentiments to cool. 
I will put them in practice from this moment, I will renew 
them from day to day ; every morning in prayer, I will recall 
at least part of them. I will habitually ask of myself a most 
exact account of them. If I have the misfortune to fall, 
I will immediately arise with confidence, and will draw 
advantage from them, because they will increase my 
vigilance and courage. Do Thou, Thyself, O Lord, engrave 
in my heart, in deep and eternal characters, these good 
resolutions. Grant me the grace to be faithful unto death. 



ON THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. 275 



TENTH DAY. 

SECOND MEDITATION. — ON THE RECEPTION OF THE 
SACRAMENTS. 

First Point. 

" Neglect not the grace which is in thee, which was given thee 
by prophecy." — I. Tim. iv., 14. 

One of the principal means of rendering fruitful the 
grace of a retreat is a worthy reception of the sacraments. 
11 These sacraments," says St. Francis of Sales, " particu- 
larly those of Penance and the Holy Eucharist, are channels 
through which God descends to us, as by prayer we ascend 
to Him. Jesus has established them in His Church as 
abundant sources of all graces ; each has its virtue. 
The sacrament of Penance is like a salutary piscina, which 
purifies us from all our stains. The Eucharist is like a 
heavenly manna which, nourishing our souls, should make 
them grow in perfection." " Why, then," asks our holy 
founder, " receiving so often these two sacraments, do we 
not also receive the graces, that are the effects of them?" 
"It is," answers he, " for want of necessary preparation. 
Therefore, we must know how we should prepare ourselves 
to receive them. The first preparation is purity of inten- 
tion ; the second is attention, and the third, is humility. 
Now, the intention is pure, when we receive the sacraments 
that we may unite ourselves to God, and be more agreeable 
to Him, without any mingling of our own interest. The 
attention should be proportioned to the importance of the 
work. Confession requires a heart truly contrite, Commu- 
nion a heart ardently loving. By this great attention, we 
do not mean that it is necessary to be free from every dis- 
traction ; this is not in our power; but we must be careful not 
to dwell on such tilings voluntarily. The third preparation 
is humility, which is necessary to receive abundantly the 
graces that flow through the channels of the sacrament. 
Waters flow more swiftly and strongly when the channels 
are in sloping places. But besides these preparations, 
there is another important one, namely, a total abandon- 



276 ON THE RECEPTION OF TEE SACRAMENTS. 

ment of ourselves to God, submitting without reserve our 
will and its affections to His dominion.'' 

Purity of intention in confession consists in declaring 
our sins with sincerity, without exaggeration ; without em- 
barrassing the confessor by long stories, or useless circum- 
stances ; without excusing ourselves through pride ; without 
disguising our sins, without palliating them through bash- 
fulness, without omitting what may change either the kind 
of sins, or render them more grievous. Now, as this detail 
should be very sincere, the examination should be extremely 
exact. We should demand of ourselves the most severe ac- 
count of our conduct and earnestly implore the light of 
grace. The heart is an abyss of darkness and obscur- 
ity, and conscience is a labyrinth in which are to be found a 
thousaud folds. How then can they be known if we are not 
enlightened by grace ? Our examination must be severe, 
that we may be able to pronounce against ourselves, and 
not flatter ourselves in our own cause. How many form 
to themselves false consciences? They blind themselves 
on certain points, and decide without consulting on certain 
doubts, lest they become uneasy ; they do not accuse 
themselves of certain little weaknesses, because they do 
not wish to combat them ; they consider them as trifles, 
although these weaknesses of ten retard them in the way of 
virtue. Again, others disquiet themselves too much in the 
examination of their faults, under pretext of wishing to 
say everything, consequently, they are not sufficiently 
occupied with their contrition and the resolutions they 
should take. Scrupulous persons should take very little 
time for examination ; they should do it only a few 
minutes before confession, should never write their sins, 
and should obey their confessors in every thing. Other- 
wise, they would pass their whole lives in examination, in 
details of accusations, disquietudes without amendment, 
without affections, without love. This conduct should be 
pursued in confessions of rule and devotion, to which we 
are morally certain of carrying only venial sins, and to 
which we go to renanimate our fervor, to receive an in- 
crease of grace, to obtain the the pardon of faults, to 
which our frailty exposes us, and the helps necessary to 
diminish their number. 



ON THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. 2/ i 

After having entered the dark abyss of our conscience 
with lantern in hand, to discover the enemies of God 
and our salvation hidden therein, we must have a heart 
truly contrite. The sight of our sins should produce in 
our soul a lively and sincere sorrow, inspired by the Spirit 
of God, and conceived in view of Him. This sorrow 
should proceed from the heart, otherwise it would be 
hypocritical and insufficient for the validity of the sacra^ 
ment. Sorrow should be sovereign, that is to say, superior 
to the sorrow caused by the loss of what naturally we love 
most. Contrition is a gift of God, obtained only by 
prayers and works of penance ; and with grace, becomes 
the work of the soul, which excites herself to it by reflec- 
tions on the grievousness and malice of sin. But although 
we should have this lively sorrow for our sins it is not 
necessary to feel it. Sensible sorrow is not always the 
strongest nor the surest. It ma} r be the effect of tem- 
perament and a lively imagination. When we have done 
what is in our power, we must remain quiet. Excessive 
uneasiness and the desire of being sure of contrition, 
often arise from self-love, a secret pride and want of 
abandonment to God and confidence in His mercy. The 
senses are not the rule of sorrow, but it is our reason which 
measures it. We might have a more sensible sorrow for 
the loss of a relation, or friend, than for the grace of God ; 
but, by reason, the loss of grace afflicts us more than the 
loss of a friend. One of the surest means to judge of 
the merit of our contrition is the nature of the resolution 
which accompauies it. If the resolution is feeble and the 
-heart; has no part in it, we ma} 7 fear it is not snfficient, 
but if our determination to quit sin is generous, strong 
and sincere, then we have every thing to hope for. We 
have only to apply ourselves to give to our confession, 
the humility and confidence, which St. Francis of Sales 
requires from us. 

Confession, according to Tertullian, is au act of hu- 
mility that changes the eternal punishment of hell into 
temporal punishments. It casts the sinner down to lift 
him up, it accuses and excuses, it condemns and absolves 
him. By it, says St. Augustine, the sinner exclaims with 
David : "O Lord, I have not concealed my sin, but have 



278 ON THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. 

declared it, that Thou mightst conceal it." For, when 
mau confesses his sin, God conceals it; when man con- 
ceals it, God manifests it ; when man acknowledges it, 
God pardons it. Happy, then, the religious soul, who, 
regarding the priest as Jesus Christ, humbly prostrates her- 
self at his feet, to be watered with some drops of the Blood 
of this divine Saviour. Happy, the soul who, not being 
ashamed to acknowledge her sins, asks, as her portion, 
confusion and humiliation. Far from disputing, or con- 
testing with a confessor, — or under pretext of want of 
confidence, rebelling against well-regulated severity in a 
tribunal, which is that of the justice, as well as the mercy of 
God, she listens to his advice as if Jesus Christ, Himself, 
was speaking to her, avoiding that dangerous illusion of 
many, who, then, try to think if they have not forgotten 
some sin. Happy the soul who, after having confessed, 
receives the penance imposed with deep sentiments of 
gratitude, that God is contented with so slight a satis- 
faction for such grievous sins, and absolution in senti- 
ment of profound and most perfect confidence in the 
merits of our Saviour, which are then applied to her. 

The rules which St. Francis of Sales gives for confes- 
sion are the same for communion. In the first place, 
besides purity of conscience, he requires purity of inten- 
tion. That is, it is not enough for a Religious of the 
Visitation to purify herself from all mortal sin and all 
attachments to venial sin, for, stopping there, she would 
be but little touched by the grandeur of this adorable 
mystery. She must be purified from every affection, 
however light. She must be united to God and render 
herself agreeable to Him, through love of Him, without 
mixture of self-love. Were it a mere nothing that divid- 
ed her heart, that nothing would be a barrier sufficiently 
strong to prevent her from receiving the gifts of God. It 
would exclude her from the holy familiarity with which 
He honors those perfect souls, who do not suffer in them- 
selves the least desire contrary to His will. It would 
deprive her of that plentitude of sweetness, which the} 7 , 
who are free from all returns upon self, enjoy in the 
participation of the sacraments. It is something for the 
generality of the faithful to offer Him hearts free from 



ON THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. 279 

any great stains, and this present He condescends to 
accept, imperfect as it is. But, from the soul who is con- 
secrated to Him, He expects a heart so divested of all 
earthly affections, of every too eager desire, that it is 
incapable of willing and desiring any thing but Him. St. 
Francis of Sales will not have his daughters disquieted, 
because they have uo consolation either during or after 
holy communion. " If you consent to this disquietude, 
says he, " who does not see that you seek to unite your- 
self, not to God, but to his consolations, since your union 
with Him should be formed only by the holy virtue of 
obedience to His will." 

4 All your attention," continues he, '• consists in empty- 
ing your heart of all things, that our Lord may till it 
entirely with Himself. Certainly, the reason why we do 
not receive the grace of sanctification, which one com- 
munion well made is capable of imparting, is because we 
do not let our Lord reign in us as He desires. He comes unto 
us, this Beloved of our souls, and finds our hearts full of 
desires, affections, and little wills. This is not what He 
seeks ; He wishes to find them empt} 7 , that He may be the 
Master of them, and govern them. To show how much 
He desires this, He tells his devoted lover to place Him 
as a seal upon her heart, that nothing may euter therein 
but by His permission and according to His good 
pleasure." 

"Now, I know very well that the centre of your 
hearts is empty. Otherwise, there would be a great 
infidelity. I mean," says our holy Founder, "that we 
have detested and rejected not only mortal sin, but also 
every kind of bad affection. But alas ! all the corners of 
our hearts are filled with a thousand things unworthy of 
appearing in the presence of this sovereign King, 
which bind His hands, and prevent Him from imparting 
to us the grace and blessings He desires to bestow on 
those He finds prepared. Now, is this having a heart 
ardently loving, a heart truly humble and happy in its own 
abjection? Let us, then, do all in our power to prepare 
to receive this heavenly Bread, abandoning ourselves 
totally to divine Providence, not only with regard 
to temporal benefits, but likewise to spiritual things. Let us 



280 ON THE RECEPTION OF TIM SACRAMENTS. 

consider in the presence of the divine Bounty, if all our 
affections, desires and inclinations are subject to Him, and 
let us be assured, that our Lord on His side will accom- 
plish the promise He has made us, of transforming us 
into Himself, and elevating our lowliness to His infinite 
greatness. You will know if you profit by the sacraments, 
by examining your progress in the virtues peculiar to 
them. Thus, you should draw from confession humility 
and the love of your own abjection, for such should be its 
effects, and it is always by the virtue of humility that we 
measure our advancement. Thus, you should become by 
holy communion more gentle, for this is the virtue proper 
to this sacrament, which is all gentleness and sweetness ; 
but if, on the contrary, you do not become more humble 
or more gentle, you deserve to have the Bread taken 
from you, since you will not work." 

Second Point. 

I see distinctly, O my God, that the principal cause of 
my relapses is the little preparation I make for the re- 
ception of Thy divine sacraments. I find myself always 
guilty of the same faults, and irregularities, the same 
tepidity, the same dissipation, the same want of charity, 
the same delicacy, the same sensibility, the same vanity, 
and the same self-love. I find no amendment, no profit by 
my confessions and communions. It is because custom 
and the Rule, rather than real piety and love of Thee 
have hitherto led me to theiyL Therefore, if I have not 
profaned them, I have cause to fear that. I have rendered 
null their effects. 

What have been my dispositions for the sacrament of 
reconciliation? Have I approached it to recover my 
liberty, or to forge new chains? to receive my justifica- 
tion or condemnation ? To judge of this, how have I con- 
sidered the examination which should precede confess- 
ion? the sorrow which ought to accompany it? the resolu- 
tion which ought to animate it? the satisfaction which 
should perfect it? the change of life and manners which are 
its fruit? Have I not contented myself with a super- 
ficial examination? Have I endeavored to discover the 



ON THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. 281 

sources and malice of my sins? Has the sight of 1113- 
offences produced in my heart a lively and sincere con- 
trition ? Have I earnestly asked this gift of God ? It 
should be interior. Have I not contented myself with 
making acts, in the formulas of which, my memory had 
more share than my heart. It does not depend on me to 
have that sensible and amorous sorrow which breaks forth 
in sighs and melts into tears. Thou givest this, Lord, to 
whom Thou pleasest, but if I had been penetrated with 
Thy love, would 1 not be at least deeply and interiorly 
touched for having offended Thee? If my sorrow has not 
been sensible, has it been at least spiritual, true, univer- 
sal and sovereign ? Has its motive been the love I owe 
Thee, my God? Have I wept for my sin, because it is 
an evil? or rather have I not wept because I feared a 
greater evil ? Has my contrition been superior to every 
other sorrow, and included a firm will and resolution? 
Have I sought to be morally certain of having true con- 
trition of heart? Has not the habit of accusing myself 
of slight faults led me to conceive only a feeble sorrow 
for them, and to form only an imperfect resolution, 
although the confession of these venial sins without contri- 
tion and a good resolution is null, and renders me guilty 
of a real sin ! Has sorrow for my faults been accompa- 
nied by a firm purpose, an absolute will, a strong and sin- 
cere resolution of never again relapsing? Have I not 
failed in sincerity in confessing certain faults, certain 
weaknesses? Or, falling into another extreme from 
wishing to tell everything, have I not often made my con- 
fession a diffuse narrative of a thousand things, for which 
I could not feel sorry? And, notwithstanding this cold 
recital, which I have dared to call confession, have I not 
often omitted to tell that which humbled me most? 
Have not m} 7 scruples, or other vain motives, led me to 
conceive a disgust against the confessor, or to contest 
with him, and to inspire him with fear of exercising well- 
regulated severity? How have I received and accom- 
plished the penance imposed on me? Have I not solicited 
exemptions from the satisfaction commanded ? Have I 
not treated the confessor's exactitude as rigorism, instead 
of making it a law to supply for his indulgence by works 



282 OK THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. 

of penance, proportioned to my debts? In fine, amend- 
ment of life is the surest sign, indeed the only good one, 
of a good confession. What, then, am I to think of so 
many and such quick relapses? What sin, defect, or 
imperfection, have I corrected? Has my heart no longer 
the same affections. Am I not subject to the same weak- 
nesses? Havel not the same delicacy, sensitiveness and 
self-love ? 

My confessions being so defective, have I not cause to 
fear that mjr communions, have been, for the greater 
part, at least tepid? If I judge of them by the profit I 
draw from them, or by the disposition in which I make 
them, have I not cause to tremble ? Oh ! what a sad and 
painful acknowledgment, I must here make ! I am some- 
times in such dryness and aridity, that it seems to me 1 
say nothing to Thee, O my God, either before or after re- 
ceiving Thee. Yet, I go as others, and according to my 
Rule I present myself to receive Thee ; and it seems to 
me that the only fruit of my communion is to make me 
tremble as to my dispositions in receiving Thee, and as to my 
sentiments after having received Thee. If it were a trial 
from Thee, suffering it with humility, I could say with 
confidence : " Thou wiliest, my God, that I remain before 
Thee and receive Thee without any sentiments, any en- 
joyment, may it be done to me according to Thy word. 
I am not worthy of Thy divine consolations, after having 
enjoyed too many natural ones ; I make Thee the sacri- 
fice." I would limit myself to tell Thee in the bitterness 
of my heart, that I am incapajble of saying anything to 
Thee. But I would not cease to repeat that I love Thee 
and would always ask of Thee Thy divine love, without 
desiring too much to feel it. But are not the aridit}' and 
dryness I experience in my communions, a just chastise- 
ment from Thee, O Lord, rather than a trial? O my 
Saviour ! I render to Thee all the justice I owe Thee, and 
also to myself ; I do not prepare sufficiently to receive 
Thee before presenting myself at the holy Table, and, 
after receiving Thee, I am not sufficientlv penetrated with 
Thy greatness ; thence, my langour. Is it faith or love 
that is wanting to me ? or rather, is it not both ? If my 
faith were more lively, would not my love be more ardent? 



ON THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. 283 

and if my love were more lively, would not ray faith, or 
at least ray conduct, be more perfect ? After so many 
communions, would I not be stronger in temptation, less 
impatient in trial, less inconstant in virtue, less obstinate 
in my defects, less filled with pride, self-complacency and 
self-seeking in all my actions? I acknowlndge all 
the depravity of my heart, and as final perseverance is to 
be the fruit of all my confessions and communions, I must 
resolve to bring every preparation to them with the assis- 
tance of Thy holy grace. 

At the sight of my past confessions, I understand, 
Lord, that I have had neither respect, love, nor fear for 
Th}' divine Majesty, because any one of these sentiments 
would have prevented, or stopped my wanderings. To- 
day, Thou dost dissipate by Thy lights the darkness of 
my mind. Thou dost break, by the force of Thy arm, the 
stone of my heart, Thou dost pierce it with the darts of 
Thy love. My tears will flow night and day over the abuse 
I have made of Thy sacraments, and they will be my daily 
bread. Yes, contrition, love, sighs, sobs, and confusion will 
forever fill my soul. My penance shall equal that of the 
most illustrious penitents. In my accusations, O nry God, 
I will remember that Thou art infinitely amiable, and can be 
offended by sin alone, and that I can best prove my love 
of Thee by hating and detesting it. When I acknowledge 
myself guilty, do Thou infuse into my heart the flames of 
Thy charity and the sentiments of that bitter sorrow 
which my iniquities cause Thee, that if I am unworthy of 
dying of love and sorrow, as Thou didst, I may at least 
long for Thee until my last hour, with a contrite and hum- 
ble love Grant me this grace that I may repair my pro- 
fanations of the sacrament of reconciliation. 

O Jesus ! numberless are the outrages Thou didst re- 
ceive from me in the sacrament of Thy love. I have 
eaten Thy Flesh without due preparation, through habit, 
through the duties of my state, and almost without dis- 
tinguishing Thy Body, that heavenly Bread, from material 
bread. Perhaps, even, I have made no distinction between 
the da} r s of communion and others. The same resistance 
to grace, the same tepidity in my exercises of piety, the 
same facility in committing my habitual faults has been 



284 ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 

noticeable on communion days. Humbled, confused and 
contrite at my conduct, I will henceforth, 1113' God, take 
every care to prepare for Thee the dwelling of my heart, 
and to profit by Thy divine presence in the way taught 
me by my holy Founder. 



TENTH DAY. 

1 

THIRD MEDITATION. ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN 

MARY. 

First Point. 
" Behold thy Mother!"— St. John xix., 27. 

Mary, the Mother of a Son, Who has God Himself 
for His Father, was given under the august title of 
Mother to all men, by that same Son, their divine Saviour. 
But may it not be said, that she is more especially by 
that gift, the Mother of a Religious of the Visitation, who 
is in a particular manner consecrated to her interests, her 
person and her very name? What a glory for a Daugh- 
ter of Holy Mary ! But the more distinguished her 
prerogatives the greater should be her devotion towards 
her Blessed Mother. This glorious Virgin protects her in 
a special manner ; she should then honor her more particu- 
larly, aud inspire all hearts with love and veneration for 
her. She is too enlightened to attribute to Mary a charac- 
ter of divinity, for she knows that she honors in her the 
graces and favors of God. But, how far must she extend 
this homage? Can sne sufficiently glorify the Mother of 
her divine Saviour? Can her devotion be too marked for 
her, whom Jesus Christ has exalted in heaven and crowned 
with the rays of His own glory ? Devoted to the service 
of this Queen of Angels and of men, in an Order where 
zeal for her glory is, as it were, hereditary, she should 
maintain and defend all her privileges. This love of 
Mary should be solidly established in her heart. This 
tender Mother should reign there with as much empire, and 
in a manner as fixed and invariable, as she does in heaven. 



ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 285 

Otherwise, whatever honors might be paid her would 
be a vain ceremony. To be glorious to Mary and salutary 
to herself, the homage of the religious must be animated 
with the spirit ; that is, after God, she must place in Mary 
all her confidence, must abandon to this good Mother all 
her interests, must have recourse to her in all her wants, 
regard her as ner benefactress and, in particular as her 
Mother. In these two qualities, she must render Mary 
the most tender love. 

Her veneration should not be limited to this j her par- 
ticular devotion should be imitation. She should take 
Mary for her model, follow her as her guide, and make 
her life the rule of her conduct. This devotion is 
honorable to the Blessed Virgin, because it alone suits 
the plenitude of her merits. What, in fact, is more 
suitable to her honor, triumph and glory, than to be 
acknowledged, not by mere ceremony and barren eulo- 
giums, but by real love, and generous efforts, as Queen 
of all saints, Model of all virtues? Woe, then, to the 
daughter of this august Mother, who, contented with 
respecting her, does not aspire to resemble her, who, 
idly admiring her sanctity, does not seek to imitate 
it, by endeavoring to do what she has done, and to 
become what she has been ! Of what importance is it to 
me, might this glorious Virgin say to her, that you cele- 
brate my feasts, publish my praises, honor rny power, and 
revere my images? Filled with the bliss of heaven, I am 
insensible to the honors you render me, if they do not 
incite you to a desire of resembling me. It is for this, that I 
interest myself in 3*our wants, assist you in your necessi- 
ties, put to profit your good works and offer to God your 
prayers. His will is that you resemble me, that } 7 ou regu- 
late your sentiments by my maxims, and your actions by 
my example. How illy you correspond to my solicitude 
for your salvation, if, after seeing me elevated to the high- 
est sanctity, you content yourself with a shameful 
mediocrity ! You praise my generous efforts, and blush 
not at your own inaction. You congratulate me on my 
perseverance in good, and you waver unceasingly between 
good and evil. Ah ! what an extreme disproportion be- 
tween my life and yours. It contradicts all the honors 



286 ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 

you pay my memory and degrades my name, which you 
bear. If you really love and honor me, imitate me, or 
cease to honor me, if you refuse to take me as your 
model. 

To avoid such a reproach, a Daughter of Holy Mary 
ought, then, to apply herself to imitate what she honors in 
this amiable Mother. But this is not enough ; each da}*, 
she should increase and perfect herself more and more in 
the imitation of her virtues, in order to correspond to the 
fidelity of this holy Virgin, who accomplished all that she 
knew irom the first instant of her conception, never 
ceased to make progress, to advance from perfection to 
perfection, from the happy moment wherein she conceived 
the Son of God, until the awful moment, in which she sacri- 
ficed Him, — until the moment when, transformed into love, 
she abyssed herself in the love of God. Such ought to be 
the life of each of her daughters. There is no fixed 
point, where this faithful soul can stop, place limits to her 
fervor and be contented with her merits, saying to herself: 
44 1 have done enough." 

Second Point. 

How unworthily, O Blessed Mother, have I carried out 
the views of my holy Founders, who were so perfectly de- 
voted to you ? How far am I from the spirit of my holy 
Institute, which makes a special law to honor and invoke 
you, to place in you all confidence, and above all, to 
imitate you ? Ah ! has my heart ever been well penetrat- 
ed with the tenderness you have always shown me? Has 
it ever testified the gratitude due for your benefits to my 
soul? Heretofore, how have I honored you? With what 
spirit have I celebrated your feasts? With what zeal and 
affection, have I invoked your assistance? With what 
fidelity and attention, have I recited your Office? Has 
my devotion to you ever been sincere and well regulated ? 
Content with praising you with my lips, have I not kept 
from you my heart? Zealous in defending your preroga- 
tives, have I been as eager to imitate your virtues? After 
the honor of being a child of God, is there a greater honor 
than to be your daughter, O my holy Mother? O holy 



ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 287 

Virgin ! your power in heaven and on earth is unlimited ; 
may it be thus over my heart. Yes, Lord, Whose sacred 
Body and Precious Blood, which Thou didst take from 
this most holy Virgin, I have received to-day, I promise 
Thee to honor, invoke, and serve her more faithfully ! I 
will, for the future, devote myself to study her virtues, 
actions and life, in order to conform to them according to 
my state. 

O Mary, Virgin of predilection ! from all eternity you 
were present to the eyes of your Creator. According to 
Scripture, the abysses were not yet formed, the fountains 
had not yet begun to flow from the bosom of the earth, 
the hills and the mountains, which are supported by their 
own weight, were not yet created, and you were already 
conceived as the fairest work that was to come from the 
hand of God. Choosing you for the Mother of His Son, 
He determined to endow you more richly than all the rest 
of His creatures. Can I not say that this spirit of discern- 
ment, which was the principle of your happiness, has been 
the fount of mine also? In the eternity of his wisdom and 
goodness, the Sovereign Creator was occupied with me ; He 
chose me from an infinity of creatures, who might have 
been and never will be. He determined the time of my 
creation and birth. He resolved to separate me from the 
corruption of the world and to conduct me into the bosom of 
religion, where He prepared for me graces proportioned to 
the august dignity of His Spouse that He was to confer on 
me. O Mary ! what was your gratitude, your fidelity, in 
corresponding to this excess of love, liberality and tender- 
ness, on the part of your God ! Such shall be my gratitude, 
correspondence and fideli y, for the benefit of my creation 
and vocation. I shall be incessantly occupied with Him 
Who was occupied with me from all eternity. I shall faith- 
fully correspond to that grace of distinction, which with- 
drew me from the world to consecrate me to my God. 

The prerogatives which God granted you, O Immacu- 
late Virgin ! when you were conceived, were an exemption 
f 10m original sin and a plentitude of the gifts of the Holy 
Ghost. By these favors, you were preserved from the 
fatal waters of the universal deluge, in which we were all 
engulfed with our first parents ; your soul was filled with 



288 ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 

superemiiient grace, your body was ornamented with the 
rarest purity, your heart was confirmed in sanctity, your 
mind was enlightened with the light of faith. Therefore, 
the commencement, the course and the end of your life were 
so holy that there never was any blemish in you. What 
God did for you, O Mary ! is a sensible image of what He 
has done for me. He forearmed me, on entering religion, 
with a grace of preservation and a grace of protection. 
He chose me to be a vessel of honor in His house. My 
eyes, my body, all my senses, were sanctified by my conse- 
cration. The passions, and the cupidity which nourishes 
them, were weakened b}- the grace attached to the vows 
of poverty and chastity ; the levity and inconstancy of my 
will were fixed by the grace of obedience. How many helps 
have been given me to preserve these benefits ! Ah ! if until 
now I have not faithfully corresponded to such preroga- 
tives, henceforth, I will do so with more care and vigilance. 
Oglorious Virgin ! the advantages of your birth were, 
not only to be born of the mo jt illustrious parents, to count 
among your ancestors patriarchs, prophets, kings, high 
priests and conquerors, to inherit a blood which God had 
purified in the veins of so man} 7 saints, which He had made 
reign on the throne of so many kings, and to triumph in the 
persons of so many wise and valiant conductors of His 
people ! Your glory was not only to unite in yourself all 
the greatness of the empire, and all the sanctity of the 
priesthood, but also to be vivified by the same blood that 
was to flow through the veins of the Sou of God, to have 
the same flesh, in which He was to be clothed and, espe- 
cially, to contract with Him, by the grace with which you 
were filled, the most intimate union. What a holy use 3011 
made of } T our glorious privilege and of the graces with which 
you were inundated ! The day of your birth, O Blessed 
Mother ! should remind me of the day of my entrance into 
religion, which was, as it were, a second birth. Then I 
became, the daughter and heiress of my holy founders, 
who, by their virtues, were as illustrious in religion, 
as by their nobility they were, in the world. Here 
I dwell in a land purified by the tears of so many 
penitents, watered and tinged by the blood of so many 
martyrs of divine love, who made of their bodies living 



ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 289 

victims immolated to their God. It should remind me 
also of the sacred day, when I became the daughter and 
Spouse of Jesus Christ, and contracted with Him the 
most honorable alliance. After your example, holy 
Virgin ! I shall cling to these privileges. Heiress of the 
titles of my holy founders, I shall also inherit their vir- 
tues. 1 shall not degenerate from the piety of so many 
virtuous sisters, who have preceded me, or who live with 
me. But, above all, I shall glory in belonging to Jesus 
Christ, in forming but one heart and one soul with Him 
and increasing, by my fidelity, the grace that unites me 
to Him. 

In your Presentation in the Temple, O incomparable 
Virgin ! 30U offered, at the same time, a daughter to the 
Eternal Father, a mother to the Son, a spouse to the 
Holy Ghost, a queen to the Angels, an advocate to sin- 
ners, a mediatrix to all men ! You consecrated to God, 
without reserve, all that was most precious ! You conse- 
crated yourself by the bond of a perpetual vow, and with 
what love you kept this engagement ! After your exam- 
ple, O most holy Mother ! I have consecrated myself to the 
Lord by solemn vows. I have sacrificed to Him the 
world, my senses and my whole being. But has there 
been no theft in the holocaust? Have I reserved nothing 
of the spoils of the Amaleckites? I detest my infidelity. 
I will henceforth carry with love the yoke of your divine 
Son. I will no longer separate what is so closely united. 

O solitary Virgin ! in your retirement in the temple, 
separated from creatures, and united in mind and heart to 
God, you consecrated to Him all your movements, and per- 
fected yourself by the exercise of pure love and all other 
virtues. You elevated yourself to the bosom of your sover- 
eign Creator, Who, descending into your heart, purified 
it from all created things, and disposed you to become His 
temple. This solitude and retirement will serve as a model 
for that which I have chosen. I shall cherish my abode ; 
I shall remain in it, solitary in body, mind and heart ; I 
shall cultivate the holy and happy union with which God 
deigns to favor me. Empty of all creatures, dead to the 
world and to myself, I shall be occupied with God only. 
He alone shall fill my heart. 
19 



290 ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 

O purest of Virgins ! purity was the sacred bond that 
united your heart to the Heart of Jesus. In Him, you 
found the Angel Guardian of your virginity. Your two 
hearts were perfectly united, because you loved each other 
with a supernatural love, founded on the graces }ou have 
received from God, and on the love of Jesus, which was 
to be the indissoluble bond of your mutual tenderness. 
Your holy union retraces that which I have contracted with 
Jesus Christ ; purity is its bond, sanctity should be its fruit. 
I shall, therefore, purify more and more my body, my heart, 
my thoughts and my senses. No secret attachments shall 
occupy me and divide my affections. 

O prudent Virgin ! the manner in which you couducted 
yourself in your conversation with the angel shall remind 
me of how I should conduct myself towards men. In my 
conversations with the world, I shall never withdraw from 
the eyes of the visible angel destined by religion to guard 
me. The most exact modesty shall regulate my looks and 
words ; I shall never ask curious questions ; I shall speak 
of holy things only ; I shall never forget my sacred charac- 
ter. No dissipation, no worldly manners, no effusion 
of heart, no levity, or vanity no complacency in praises, 
no lively and agreeable repartees. I shall especially 
avoid that secret joy of being applauded, which some- 
times, under the cloak of an affected modesty, leads to a 
display of what should be hidden under the shade of the 
veil. 

O charitable Virgin ! 'your zeal led you to the mountains 
of Judea to sanctify the house of Elizabeth and render 
her charitable service. There, you diffused joy, light and 
sanctity. Such shall be my zeal for the interests of God 
and the cause of religion ; such shall be my tenderness 
for my sisters, whom I shall love and serve in Jesus Christ 
and so, while edifying others, I shall sanctify myself. 

O religious and faithful Mother ! your obedience to the 
law required you to purify yourself. A virgin, you offer a 
God to God as others were offered and redeemed by their 
parents. You obeyed not only the points of precepts, but 
you obeyed the law in all its rigor. Such shall be my 
fidelity to my rules. I shall listen to no false pretexts for 
dispensing myself from any of them, A vain human re- 



ON DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 291 

spect, an unmortified desire of self-satisfaction, a false 
shame, a slight infirmity, the fear of appearing what I am, 
shall no longer lead me to infringe the least regulation. 

O tender Mother ! the loss of Jesus, which you met with 
in the Temple, shall teach me that He can be lost even in 
the cloister. There was no fault on either side with regard 
to His loss, for He withdrew only to try you. But is it not 
by too great liberty to my senses, by the voluntary dissi- 
pation of my mind, or by the secret attachments of my heart, 
that' I have lost His grace and presence? Yet, has my 
criminal heart felt the bitterness in which your innocent 
soul was plunged ? Like you, since I have had the happi- 
ness to find my God, I will never more abandon Him, or 
permit Him to withdraw from me. 

O Mother of sorrows ! your whole life was one of trial, 
privation and bitterness, but with what unshaken fidelity 
you passed through it ! How invincible was your constancy 
on Calvary, assisting at the bloody sacrifice of your 
divine Son, Who was the salvation of the world ! What a 
sword of sorrow then pierced your heart, but what were 
not your courage, intrepidity and fortitude ! You shed 
tears, but they flowed with respect for the will of the Most 
High. You sighed, but no unworthy weakness had 
part in your grief. Overwhelmed as you were, you willed 
what Jesus Christ willed, the accomplishment of the orders 
of heaven, the redemption of the world. You fixed your 
eyes on that dying child of your bosom, Whom you loved 
so tenderly. You wept for Hiin, but did not oppose His 
sacrifice. Your generous sentiments, O blessed mother! 
should induce me to overcome my weakness and pusil- 
lanimity in the crosses and contradictions I so often meet. 
I shall henceforth offer to God my sensibility in infirmity, 
maladies, and sufferings, both interior and exterior, as a 
sacrifice of praise, honor and expiation, to obtain for my- 
self, and those of whom I have reason to complain, the 
graces we need. 

Finall} T , O Mother of love ! in the space of time that 
elapsed between the death of Jesus and your own, you 
were incessantly united to Him in heart, by loving nothing 
but Him, thinking of nothing but Him, and acting only for 
Him. You never lost His divine presence a single moment 



292 ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 

and after your example, most holy Mother, I shall be 
closely united to Jesus Christ, and live no longer but for 
and in Him, as my holy state obliges me to do. It is by 
meditation that I can preserve this intimate union. Re- 
collected in myself, I shall make a retreat of my heart, 
which I will no longer leave. I shall there erect an altar, 
on which I will sacrifice everything to my God. There, I 
will constantly pour out my heart in His presence ; my 
mind will be uplifted to Him, and my soul will be unceas- 
ingly inflamed with the fire of His divine love. It is 
under your auspices, O Blessed Virgin ! that I have formed 
these resolutions, and it is under your protection that I 
engage myself to be faithful to them. You know better 
than myself my many wants ; you love me, and I beseech 
you to support me by your prayers in the efforts I am 
going to make to serve you. Will you, my blessed Mother ! 
suffer all the graces you have procured for me, during this 
retreat, to be useless? No, you will not permit it, if I am 
faithful. No creature was ever so much beloved by God 
as you. No creature ever loved Him so much as you. 
No creature ever had so much zeal for His glory, or so 
much credit with Him for the salvation of souls. It is, 
therefore, by your admirable prerogatives, by your virtues, 
O divine and tender Mother, that I conjure you to obtain 
for me the grace of a holy and inviolable fidelity. 



TENTH DAY. 

/ 

CONFERENCE ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 

"Arise, eat; for thou hast yet a great way to go."— III. Kings, 



This discourse which the angel held with Elias, is that 
which Jesus Christ addresses to a religious after her re- 
treat. " Hitherto," he seems to say to her, " you have 
stopped in the way. Even your steps which should have 
tended towards Jerusalem, have been directed to Babylon. 
Arise, there is not a moment to be lost. Fortified by the 



ON kELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 29o 

bread of the strong, with which I have fed you, animate 
yourself with new courage, and walk on to Mount Horebj 
where I will await you. Hitherto, you have shown good 
desires without effect, fine resolutions without execution, 
good works without integrity and perfection. Time is 
short, it passes rapidly ; the greater part of it has elapsed, 
and but little remains to you. Therefore, collect your 
strength, redouble your steps in the way of virtue, and 
advance incessantly, that you may gain the palm that I 
destine as the reward of your combats. Arise and walk, 
for there yet remains a great way for you to go." 

These words, upon which St. Chantal often meditated, 
animated her with the most ardent zeal for her own 
advancement towards perfection, and for that of her 
daughters. Consumed with a divine fire, she often said 
to them : " Oh that I had a flaming dart to enkindle in 
your hearts the love or perfection and virtue, which your 

vocation requires You are more obliged to this 

perfection," added she, " because you practice a rule 
whose easiness should bumble you, and you should replace 
by a more ardent love of God and an adoration purely in 
spirit and in truth, the great austerities practised by the 
saints." 

Woe, then, to a daughter of this holy Mother, who 
counts her progress in the ways of God, who seeks to 
smooth the path of her salvation by dispensations, which 
would only render it less sure and even more difficult. The 
least attention to the way we have already made retards 
our progress, and, to look back on a steep road, before we 
reach the top is to risk being precipitated. Perfection disap- 
pears when we think we touch it, and the most eminent degree 
of sanctity does not hinder us from being useless servants. 
If St. Paul, loaded with the merits he had acquired in the 
course of his evangelical preaching, counted as nothing 
what he had done, if he only looked before him to see the 
way that remained for him to go, if he was only occupied 
with the care of incessantly advancing,' what sentiments 
should the religious soul have, who, perhaps, has not yet 
commenced in good earnest the work of her sanctification, 
or, if she has undertaken it, is yet so far from its fulfil- 
ment? What an illusion if, after slight combats, she should 



294 ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 

sigh for repose ; if she should rejoice that she has done 
much ; if she should imagine that, without doing anything 
more, she has a right to expect the reward which God has 
promised to those who labor, conquer and persevere to the 
end? What then? Has she no more passions to subdue? 
no more inclinations to combat? no more defects and 
habits to eradicate? Has she no more enemies to fear? 
surprises to avoid? temptations to prevent? self to subdue? 
Has she no more humility to acquire, meekness to prac- 
tice ? no vigilance to increase, functions to fulfil, charity to 
exercise, new degrees of divine love to obtain ? She has 
virtues, but how weak and common would they appear to 
her, if she knew how to appreciate them ! In what do 
her merits consist? Alas ! at most, in a sort of piety which 
sees itself favored by God, and applauded by creatures : in 
a patience, which has but little to support; in a humility, 
which seldom meets with humiliation ; in a poverty, to 
which nothing is wanting ; in a glorious obscurity that shuns 
the honors of the cloister, and is, perhaps, sought after ; 
which, pursued by the world, from which it has fled, draws 
its esteem and praise from the very contempt it has for it ; 
in an easy obedience that accepts what it has chosen, exe- 
cutes what pleases it, and finds in the facility of the com- 
mand the price of its submission ; in a convenient 
mortification, which retrenches what incommodes, re- 
nounces what is hurtful, and which, in its real and meri- 
torious pains and privations, has still the consolation of 
virtuous minds that admire it, and tender hearts that pity 
it; in a charity fruitful even in its disinterestedness, 1 
which meets with a grateful return, and is compensated 
for the good it performs, by the pleasure it gives and 
receives ; in a word, in a sanctity rewarded in advance,, 
though it has not yet the enjoyment, but onty a foretaste 
of it ; which gathers the fruit of justice in the abundance 
of peace, and which, as it were, prepares its crown in the 
sweetness of repose. But if this religious soul, who, 
perhaps, thinks that she sees in herself the pre-eminence 
of merits, were tried, would she not cease to be humble? 
If she were really poor, would she be perfectly detached? 
If she were sensibly afflicted, would she still be patient? 
If she were in an entire obscurity, would she cherish 



ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 295 

abandonment? If she were constrained to an incon- 
venient austerity, would she practice mortification? If 
she were in want of everything, would she love poverty? 
If she had to suffer everything, and from every body, 
would she joyfully consent to it? If she were obliged to 
everything that could be commanded, to fulfil certain 
disagreeable functions, what would be her obedience? If 
she had to sacrifice everything without any prospect of 
reward, or gratitude, what would become of her charity? 

Is it not, however, in the assiduous exercise of these 
painful virtues, or, at least, in the disposition of practi- 
sing them, that perfection consists? Is it not in a life 
always fervent, notwithstanding the crosses and obstacles 
that may interrupt its course, that true sanctity consists? 
Is it not in going to God, in the midst of the obstacles, 
which so often cool or destroy her fervor, but also in 
making new progress in the manner of fulfilling her duties 
and in increasing grace, which faithful correspondence 
doubles at each moment, that true justice consists? St. 
Paul so often invited the primitive Christians to advance 
continually in good. He was persuaded that grace only 
subsists by efforts to increase it, and th'at it is insensibly 
lost, as soon as we cease to add to its measure by vigilant 
fidejit}', in corresponding to all its motions. Woe, then, to 
a religious soul, in whom this grace should be sterile, 
because where grace produces nothing, there certainly is 
no longer grace. It is stifling its germ to cease to put it 
to profit and to acquire continually a new plenitude. In 
point of virtue, not to increase is to fall off. It being the 
essence of charity to tend to perfection, not to wish to 
increase it is to consent to its being extinguished. In 
fine, to be satisfied with the measure of one's charity is 
not to have even its beginning. "The religious state," 
says St. Francis of Sales, "is a way in which we must 
either advance or go back. It is the little seed in the 
Gospel, which continually grows and insensibly becomes a 
large tree. It is a continual progress in the narrow path, 
notwithstanding all pains and discouragements, imitating 
in this the rivers, which are never wearied in their long 
route. Although they meet with rocks and dikes in their 
way, they advance continually, and roll their waves one 



296 ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 

after the other until they enter the vast bo3ora ot tne sea." 
44 Thus," added St. Chantal, who, penetrated with these 
sentiments, made a vow to do what she knew to be most 
perfect, " thus a true Religious of the Visitation, in her 
course from earth to heaven, advances without relaxation 
in the sacrifices of religion." Every day, she becomes 
more humble in her sentiments, more reserved in her 
words, more recollected in her employments, more docile 
in her obedience. She does not imagine that the years 
she has spent in religion give her the privilege of indo- 
cility or relaxation. She runs without stopping, and 
every step she takes advances her in her career. Ani- 
mated with divine love, she rises each instant frOm virtue 
to virtue, grows in grace and wisdom, makes new progress 
in the manner of accomplishing her duties, seeks our Lord 
in the most common exercises. She applies herself 
each day to the examination of her thoughts, regulating 
her heart, as if she had done nothing in the past ; each 
day, she makes a new advance, and runs with a firm and 
rapid step in the holy way. How many merits for this 
heroic soul! They increase in proportion to the grace 
which actuates them, and grace, in its turn, increases 
in proportion to the good use she makes of it. 

How elevated soever this soul may be in virtue, she is 
still marked with the seal of infirmity, and is not sheltered 
from imperfections, frailty, or surprise. Through that 
kind of fatal necessity, which is attached to the human 
condition, she experiences weakness and languor. There 
is no life so beautiful, as not to have its blemishes, no soul 
so strong, as not to have i^s weaknesses, no heart so 
fixed on heaven, as not to have its variations; therefore, 
she has her defects and imperfections. But for this very 
reason, she redoubles her steps in the way of virtue, to 
remedy by her assiduity, vigilance and fervor, her un- 
happy disposition to evil. She knows that she does enough, 
perhaps to satisfy the duty of public edification, to fulfil 
the indispensible duties of her state, to diffuse about 
her the odor of her virtues, but she is intimately persuaded 
that she is yet far from doing enough to complete the 
great work of her sanctification, to insure the merit of a 
holy and happy death. She knows that life is a voyage, 



ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 297 

that as long as we walk in the way, we are not at the end, 
which we must approach from moment to moment ; that 
time is for our trial, and that as long as the combat lasts, 
success is doubtful, and that as long as there is an enemy, 
we must fight. Humbled under the weight of her misery, 
the religious can never turn her eyes away from it. She 
laments her faults and labors to correct them. Her con- 
science reproaches her with the least imperfections, some 
actions performed without motive, some too disquieting 
solictude, some slight murmurs, some momentary vanity, 
some worldy manners, some little attention to her conve- 
nience. She accuses herself of infidelities, if she has 
yielded to distractions, when tepidity or passion has 
placed a thick cloud between heaven and her prayers ; 
if rebellious thoughts have arisen in her mind and passed 
to her heart ; if her lips have uttered some bitter words : if 
she has turned her thoughts to the world, which she should 
absolutely forget ; if she has not promptly disavowed im- 
portunate thoughts. She accuses herself if she has taken 
back in desire the smallest portion of what she has sacri- 
ficed by her vows ; if by want of application to Jesus Christ, 
to Whom she should always be united, and Whom she 
should always desire to please, she has suffered some of her 
actions to be lost ; if she has despised the least duty, or 
neglected to repair the least fault ; if she has made a 
slight infirmity the foundation for exemptions and dis- 
pensations ; if she has returned from prayer and from the 
holy Sacrifice less meek, humble and obedient ; if she has 
not placed a guard of circumspection upon her lips, to 
watch exactly over her words ; if she has made her sisters 
feel the weight of her humor ; or if, valuing herself perhaps 
too much on account of the sanctity of her state, she has not 
drawn from it the consequences and motives that engage 
her to greater sanctity of life. With what sorrow and 
bitterness does her conscience reproach her with these 
faults or omissions ! With what promptitude does she 
recur to the tribunal of penance, to discover to a wise 
physician her recent wounds ! She confesses her weak- 
ness, not only to the Lord and His ministers, but also to 
her sisters ; she uses every means to efface them. How 
eloquent she is in explaining the enormity of her falls ! 



298 ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION: 

she judges them with rigor, and punishes tnem without 
mercy. Her faults, far from interrupting her course, 
only serve to make her redouble her steps. They even 
serve as a means for her to advance towards her end by 
the humiliation they cause and the penance she does for 
them. Such is the conduct of a truly religious soul. But 
how deplorable is that of a tepid soul, who, contented 
with her mediocrity, beatifies, as it were, her imperfection ; 
whose piety is exhausted in projects, whose devotion con- 
sists in demonstrations, whose days are passed in speaking 
of heaven, but which, far from fructifying for God, show 
but an abundance of leaves, when the axe is already 
at the root of the tree ! Hardly entered on her career 
she has not, perhaps, defeated a single enemy, conquered 
a single passion, and already she congratulates herself upon 
the triumphs and victories she has gained. She imagines 
she is already touching the end on account of the length 
of her prayers, and the agitation of her scruples, and she 
has done nothing but turn herself around, making a circle 
of occupations and exercises, which she has almost always 
referred to her own views, her self-love and convenience, 
instead of referring them to God. Far from animating her- 
self in her career, by fearing for her works, watching over 
her steps, or lamenting her corruption, she is satisfied with 
paltry virtues. Far from growing in grace, she has 
stopped at the first step, she has relaxed in fervor and 
perhaps this relaxation has dealt the fatal blow. As one, 
who is swimming against the current of a rapid river, can- 
not interrupt his efforts without being carried down by the 
tide, so, ceasing to struggle against her own heart, which 
is her mortal enemy, neglecting the helps which religion 
offers, she has, perhaps, fallen at the first degree of virtue. 
On a good beginning have followed infidelity, lan- 
guor, and a dreadful lethargy, which threaten her with 
approaching death. To a golden head, she has joined 
clay feet, and at the slightest shock, the statue will fall. 
This vineyard so happily planted, so carefully guarded, 
no longer produces anything but sour fruit, and it will soon 
be abandoned. We expected to find deep in the earth, 
the sacred fire hidden by the prophet, and it is but cold 
muddy water, which will be cursed. Isaac, laden with 



02T RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 299 

the wood and fire for the sacrifice, asked where was the 
victim ; here, on the contrary, we see the victim and do 
not see any fire. The spirit of fervor that vivified this 
soul is extinguished ; there are no longer but prayers with- 
out attention, works without love, conversations without 
devotion, crosses without unction, sacraments without 
fruit. She takes every sigh for devotion, every sin for 
temptation ; from a little negligence, she easily passes to 
a greater, from an omission to a declared prevarication, 
and now, the heavenly dew ceases to fall on this chosen 
mountain which has become sterile. Thus, by the most 
terrible chastisement, as soon as this religious soul, 
ceases to produce fruits of life, she produces gradually 
and insensibly the fruits of death ; that is to say all her 
actions are dead as to merit, dead as to reward, dead for 
time, dead for eternity ! What a deplorable state ! 

What a difference between an unfaithful and a faithful 
religious ! The latter vigorously maintains the edifice 
of a spiritual and perfect life, the former yields almost 
every moment under the weight of the slightest observance. 
One overcomes all obstacles and walks rapidly towards 
sanctity ; the other is tired, and stops at the commence- 
ment, like those languid sheep that follow the flock at 
a distance ; eveiything is burdensome, everything is pain- 
ful, even the sweetness of the law. The one receives 
every moment a new increase of merits from the sacrifice 
she first made ; the other, imprudent and slothful, sees 
taken from her, through her voluntary negligence, the 
greatest treasures in the midst of abundance. Letting 
pass idly by the blessed days of the richest harvest, she soon 
finds herself with empty hands in the presence of the 
sovereign Judge. The one finds the yoke of the Lord sweet 
and light, because she carries it with love ; the other finds 
it hard, because she drags it, as it were, not yet having 
habituated her mind and heart to bend under the amiable 
burden. 

Piety leaves in the soul a taste in proportion as it is 
practised ; it gives a holy habit of doing good which 
facilitates its accomplishment ; every day, it smoothes 
more and more the way of perfection. " Contract, there- 
fore," concludes St. Francis of Sales, "the holy habit of 



300 ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 

fidelity." "Let each one perfect herself according to her 
vocation , and j^our particular vocation is to exercise j r our- 
selves in all virtues, and mutually to animate each other to 
a union with your heavenly Spouse." He says elsewhere 
that a religious profession is a sacrifice of holocaust, in 
which by an entire and perfect immolation, the soul gives 
herself to God. The Lord has chosen her to retrace the 
charity of the primitive christians, their poverty and their 
renunciation of all earthly possessions ; the zeal of the 
apostles, the intrepidity and firmness of the martyrs. In 
fine, that she may give herself in a more perfect manner to 
Jesus Christ, her fervor and zeal should be so ardent that, 
if it were possible to find a more perfect manner of uni- 
ting herself to Him, she would embrace it. In a word, 
she should set no limits to her perfection, imitating the 
holy angels, living only of God and for God, by an entire 
consecration of herself to Him, so that He may reign 
sovereignly in her. Her perfection ought to be the end of 
all her exercises, and she ought to have a continual care to 
advance therein, and how? by the perfect observance of 
her Rule, remembering that, to attain it, it is neccesary to 
know little, think little, desire little, speak little, but to do 
and suffer much for God. " Thus," he adds in another 
place, " to bring to a single point of view the whole extent 
of the perfection of a daughter of the Institute ; she, should 
never wander from the way which is marked for her ; she 
should walk therein with the greatest exactitude, without 
turning either to the right or to the left, referring all to a 
punctual observance of all that belongs to the Institute ; 
never admitting anything contrary thereto, assured as she 
should be that, though it be good for others, it would not 
be so for her. Let her remember always that exactitude 
in practising her Rule is so necessary, that once the bond 
of respect and obedience is broken, all will go to ruin." 

What more clear, more precise and more consoling for a 
Religious of the Visitation than these precepts of her 
holy founder? All her perfection consists in observing 
faithfully according to the spirit and the letter a Rule, 
which assigns all her duties, directs all her steps, details 
all her actions, measures all her words, desires and inten- 
tions ; a Rule which not only contains for her the whole 



ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 301 

Gospel, but the spirit, sanctity and even the perfection of 
the Gospel ; a Rule emanating from heaven itself, sealed 
with the seal of the Church, and as an infallible conse- 
quence, the certain pledge of God's Will for her. It is a 
Rule, not only holy, but sanctifying, whose end and effect 
are to perfect her soul, according to God, to keep her in 
an intimate union with Him, to enable her to discover and 
contemplate the greatness of God, to inflame her with love 
for Him, to humble and annihilate her before Him, to 
render God always present, so that she finds Him in all, 
sees Him everywhere, is all His, as He is all hers. Finally, 
it is a Rule so perfect, that not only she should be its dis- 
ciple by her inviolable exactitude, but its firm support by 
her example. More than this, she should limit herself to 
it, without adding or omitting anything, " having no 
other care," says St. Chantal, " but that of depending on 
it ; to do otherwise is one of the most subtle illusions of 
the tempter. It is not always as a spirit of darkness that 
he attacks religious to turn them from the practice of the 
Rule." To certain souls, he transforms himself into 
an angel of light ; if he cannot make them neglect the 
Rule by relaxation, he leads them to do so by an excess of 
badly understood fervor ; that is to sa}% he leads them to 
a pretended sanctity above the Rule ; he proposes works 
more perfect in appearance, but incompatible with exact 
observance of Rule ; he persuades them to do more than 
they ought, and fail in w hat they should do. Fatal singu- 
larity which, according to St. Francis of Sales, who was 
as much opposed to this, as he was friendly to simplicity, is 
the daughter of pride and hypocrisy. It is a refinement of 
vanity and self-love, which withdraws from the ordinary 
and trodden path, only to distinguish and satisfy self, 
which takes for the movement of grace and the inspiration 
of the Holy Ghost, the whims of humor and caprice. Far 
from a Daughter of the Visitation such wanderings and 
similar mistakes. The foundation of her perfection is her 
Rule, since this Rule is for her the Will of God, and nothing 
can be holy but what God wills, not that the Lord reproves 
the ardor to advance, that accompanies the rule. Such works 
are good and praiseworthy in themselves, but after all, they 
suppose as the necessary and preliminary foundation, the 



302 ON RELIGIOUS PERFECTION. 

accomplishment of the Rule ; they are good but inasmuch as 
in observing extraordinary practices, there is more fidelilty 
to the common exercises. Why? The reason is evident. 
It is that the rule is of obligation, any thing further is of 
supererogation. According to the precept of Jesus Christ, 
the religious should commence by duty, without omitting 
anything else that her state and strength permit. 

Thus to conclude by the most useful, perhaps, of all the 
words of our holy Founder, and which resume in a 
few words all that has been said in this retreat : u A 
Religious of the Visitation should seek her sanctification 
only in her Rule. All her perfection should be limited to 
lead a life always simple, equal and uniform : to accom- 
plish the observances and most common and ordinary 
practices, with new and increasing love, sustained by a holy 
strength and generosity, which keeps her soul always 
elevated above the senses ; which makes her act in all by 
the movement of grace, which tends to overcome and 
mortify more and more her humors and passions ; which 
renders her constant and faithful amid all her disgusts, 
dryness, temptations and difficulties ; which keeps her con- 
stantly in the solid practice of all virtues ; which gives her 
a patience proof agaiust injuries, sufferings and contra- 
dictions ; a sincere and profound humility that is preserved 
amidst contempt, confusion and abjections ; a meekness and 
equality of humor, notwithstanding the inequality of senti- 
ment, events and occupations ; which makes her obey in 
all things with simplicity, promptitude and exactitude, 
notwithstanding all the repugnances of nature and humor. 

/ 



SUPPLEMENTARY 
MEDITATIONS, 



GOD OUR END. 305 

MEDITATION. 

GOD OUR END. 

"God being our only end, and we, having been created but for 
His glory, should in all things think of Him, and sacrifice everything 
for Him." 

First Point. 

Let us regard ourselves as nothing before the infinite 
Being of God, and supplicate Him to give us a knowledge 
of His grandeur, and of our own nothingness. God, all 
holy, powerful, and perfect in Himself is pleased that 
we should offer to Him, at every moment, the sacrifice of 
our actions ; that our greatest and only aim should be to 
offer Him a continual holocaust. O ! what an honor to 
man, that this omnipotent Being should condescend to 
accept his services ; that He should wish to make him a 
partaker of His glory ; that He should have created him 
.lor no other end ! Yes, what an incomparable honor, that 
He should deign to regard our every word, ever} 7 thought, 
ever}' look, every sigh, every act, as so many subjects 
from which He can draw some pleasure, some honor! 
Could man, dust and ashes as he is, receive a greater 
privilege than that of being made capable of increasing 
God's glory? There is no creature which should not be 
willing to sacrifice itself for the glory of God ; and there 
is none, which does not daily consume itself, as it were, to 
glorify God, and to render' homage to Him, as to its 
principle, its last end. Animals, plants, and all nature 
are gradually consumed by time, to show that they have no 
being, but what they have received from God, and, that 
what they have received must be returned to its source, 
its origin, and its last end. Should man be the only one, 
to refuse this homage to God ; man, who is the king of all 
creatures, the first of beings on earth; should he be the 
only ungrateful one, because he is the most reasonable of 
beings? Ah, no, for we are too deeply impressed, dear 
Lord, that we are Thy work and come from Thee, and that 
20 



306 GOD OUR END. 

there is nothing in us that does not belong entirely to Thee. 

religious soul ! dost thou comprehend that all in thee 
must be restored to its author ? That every action of thine, 
must be referred to Him, as a sacrifice that is justly due 
to Him ? That all the movements of thy soul, of thy body, 
of thy heart, and of thy senses, must be offered to Him in 
a spirit of immolation ? Let us spare nothing for this God 
of love, whose only design is to crown us with glory for 
all eternity ; let us only aim, during these few short years, 
perhaps hours, of time, to glorify Him, by even the very 
least of our actions. Let us consume ourselves by little 
and little, and spare nothing that will make us acceptable 
to this God of mercy and love. 

Secoyid Point. 

Let us reflect sincerely upon the past, to see if our life 
has corresponded to the designs of God in creating us. 
To what have we given our cares ? To the creatures of 
God, perhaps, who have nothing of their own to return 
to us, — to vanities, to pleasures, to idle conversations 
and amusements, to perishable things. How much of 
our life has been given to God, Who had claim to all? 

Ah, religious soul ! enter, but for one moment, into 
serious reflection, and you will find that there is in the 
inmost depths of your heart, a secret inclination, that 
would have led you to seek God in all things, if you had 
only been attentive to it. Time is now given you to 
repent of the past ; will you be so unreasonable as to waste 
it? Everything reminds you. that all must be returned 
to Him, from Whom you have received all, and that you 
are fast approaching the end of your earthly life. 
Infirmities, sickness, the rigors of the seasons, advance- 
ment of years all remind you, that your body is tending 
towards its centre, and by its gradual consummation, 
seems to say : "Yes, my God, T will be annihilated, I 
will return to dust and ashes, to acknowledge, thereby, 
that I have been formed by You out of nothing, and that 

1 must return to my centre." God has made us for Him- 
self onty, and we have dared to make use of His gifts, as 
though they were ours by just claim or right. O 



GOD OUR END. 307 

unhappy mistake ! I will, however, try to repair the 
injury done Thee, O my God, by never disposing of a 
single moment of time, except for Thy glory. I will 
keep myself in a state of annihilation before Thee. I 
will remember my last end, and desire that every moment, 
every hour, every act, every thought and wish, my body, 
my senses, my soul and all its powers, may all be im- 
molated to Thee, to Thy glory and pleasure, so that I 
may possess a spirit of sacrifice, that will finish only with 
my life. 

Alas, my God ! how far am I from the perfect disposi- 
tions of Thy saints, who spent their whole lives in a spirit 
of immolation, in a continual sacrifice of all that was 
most agreeable to them ! The world thinks not of Thee, 
my God, and I can share with it, in the reproaches Thou 
makest to it, for I have been more criminal, having re- 
ceived so many graces not granted to the world. But, 
henceforth, I will be a changed being, or rather I will 
have no being but Thine. I will, as a soul of holocaust 
and sacrifice, regard in silence, peace and adoration, all 
that passes around me, and make all tend to Thy glory and 
my sanctification. I will accept, in a spirit of submission 
and humility, the destruction of my body, and offer 
it as an 'homage to Thee, my sovereign good, my last 
end. I will rejoice to see this tenement of clay re- 
turning to its origin, dust and ashes. I will rejoice with 
all creation in rendering this homage to Thee. I will 
repine at the loss of nothing, and will make it my chief 
pleasure to think of Thee at every moment, to offer all to 
Thee, and in a word, to live a life of sacrifice, never for- 
getting that, in proportion as I abase and humble myself, 
Thou wilt be glorified, and my soul sanctified. Thou hast 
created me for Thyself alone, and to Thee I will and must 
belong for time and eternity. 



308 ON THE SHORTNESS OF TIME. 



MEDITATION. 



ON THE SHORTNESS OF TIME. 



" For behold short years pass away, and I am walking in a path 
by which I shall not return."— Job. 16, 23. 

First Point. 

There is little need of much reasoning to be convinced of 
the necessity of employing well the time which our Lord has 
given us. It suffices to say that we have but a little while, 
and, in this little while, we have great things to perform, 
great affairs to settle. You have already spent many 
years on earth, many years in which our Lord has pressed 
you to labor only for heaven, to tend to a greater 
perfection than you have attained. We must always 
go ahead, and unfortunate is she, who stops when Our 
Lord invites her to advance. Whoever advances not in 
the way of perfection goes back. What merits would you 
not have acquired, if you had put to profit, and rendered 
yourself docile to all the inspirations of grace, v\hich you 
have received in the years gone by? If you have not 
profited by those gifts, that time is lost for you. Do you 
know how long you are yet to live? No, for God alone 
has fixed the day and moment of your death, and He has 
not, and will not reveal it to you. The future is not yours 
to dispose of, and, perhaps, there is no future for you. 
Even were you certain of itsA)eing yours, it would avail 
you little, if it were to be spent as the past. Twenty, 
thirty, forty, fifty, sixty years have flown from you. 
What are they now to you? There was a 3 7 ear, perhaps 
more than one, when you made a retreat. What does it 
now seem to you, but as a day, a point, that can scarcely 
be seen ? In that year, in so many such years, how many 
moments were lost by you? Reflect seriously, and 
consider that the time still remaining to you, is flying 
rapidly, that moments have gone, even whilst meditating 
this truth, and that hours, days and years, will move 
with the same rapidity. 



ON THE SHORTNESS OF TTVE. 309 

Second Point. 

Consider, how A] might}' God presses you to hasten, 
without stopping to regard the frivolous objects of the 
world; how He desires you to tend to your perfection, to 
your last end. For this reason St. Paul says : " Time 
is short, my brethren, time is short; there remains for 
you but one step more, and 3 7 ou will be at the end of your 
career." And for this same reason, St. Peter tells us that 
the demon is as a lion around us, seeking to devour us, 
because he knows that we have no time to lose. 

We can lose time in religion as well as in the world, 
and, generally speaking, religions persons, unless they 
watch over themselves, are more exposed to this misfor- 
tune, than persons of the world, being more disengaged 
from temporal cares and affairs, which occupy worldly 
persons. "Ah," said a demon, one da}', to one of these 
souls, b} 7 the mouth of a possessed person. "Ah, if I 
had one moment of the time which you lose, and a Mary 
to call on, I would no longer be a demon." Let us then, 
think seriously of this one affair, which alone deserves 
our care ; it is the affair of time and the affair of eternity. 
There is question of avoiding an evil that will never end. 
There is question of obtaining a happiness that will 
never end. We must now acquire the means of purchas- 
ing a kingdom, which Jesus Christ tried to acquire for us in 
His thirty-three years of labor, and for which He paid all 
His blood. We have much to do to repair the past, and 
but little time, perhaps only this moment, in which we 
are meditating this awful truth. We are not certain that 
the rest of the day will be ours. O religious soul ! hasten 
towards thy perfection ; God awaits thee at the goal, to 
reward thee with eternal glory. 

Alas, my God ! how far am I from the term at which 
I ought to be, and where, perhaps, Thou art waiting for 
me to bestow on me some particular grace, and which I 
must lose, because I am not yet so far! Oh, had I kept' 
pace with Thy graces, I should now be far on the road to 
that sanctity to which I am obliged by my holy state ! I 
have deferred, from day to day, to begin a new life ; but 
now indeed I do begin, not knowing how long I shall have 



310 ON THE PRICE OF OR ACE. 

the privilege of promoting Thy glory, and procuring my 
salvation. To fail in my resolution will be to be unfaith- 
ful to grace. Even if I were assured of many years, 
they would not be too many to be employed in loving, 
serving, possessing Thee. The patriarch Joseph was not 
ignorant of the famine that was to follow the seven years 
of abundance. He began at once to prepare for it, not 
waiting until there was need to make provision. So will 
I, dear Lord, begin in time to prepare for eternity, laying 
up all the merits I can, until the time arrives when I can 
do nothing, when the night will overshadow me, and my 
only dependence will be what I have sent before me. 
Oh, from this moment, my God, I will begin to put my 
hand to the good work, I will abandon myself entirely 
into the bosom of my Father, I will say with childlike 
confidence: "My Father, I am all Thine, incapable of 
anything, save what Thou wilt enable me to accomplish ! 
I give myself to Thee without reserve ! No more delays 
on my part, no more hesitation, no more indolence, but 
relying solely on Thy love and powerful assistance , I will 
ever make rapid advancement towards my last end, my 
sovereign happiness, my God ! 



MEDITATION. 

ON THE PRICE OF GRACE. 

First Point. 

" And we helping do exhort you, that you receive not the grace 
of God in vain."— II., Cor., vi., 1. 

Grace emanates from the Divinit}' as the rays emanate 
from the sun. It is a portion of the divine light which en- 
lightens our mind, and of divine love which inflames our 
heart. Our divine Saviour has acquired this precious 
gift for us, by shedding all His Blood for us, and by all the 
sufferings He endured from His birth to His death upon 
the Cross. To know the value of grace, we must under- 



ON THE PRICE OF GRACE. 31 1 

stand what it cost its Author. For this, we will place in the 
scales of justice on one side His humiliations and anni- 
hilations, His cross with all its heaviness, His dolors with 
all their extent, and His love with all its ardors ; on the 
other side, we will place the wonderful effects of this gift 
of grace in our souls, the pious affections it excites in the 
heart, the victories it makes us gain over ourselves, the 
world and the demon. Then, comparing with the source, 
the many streams that flow to us from it, we will exclaim 
with love and gratitude: " O what a happiness for me to be 
admitted to these living waters, which will refresh me in this 
vale of tears !" It is certainly true, that all the grace we 
receive was purchased by the crib and cross of Jesus Christ. 
O religious soul ! Can you recall the histoy of your life, 
without recalling the numberless graces you have received 
from your God? Where is the day, where is the hour, 
the moment, the instant of your life, in which you cannot 
find the remembrance of some new benefit, some wonder- 
ful effect of grace? — In your infancy, what instructions ! 
In your youth, what salutary admonitions ! Wtat good 
desires ! What holy sentiments ! And later, what hoty 
attractions ! What an extraordinary grace in the choice of 
a more holy, a more perfect state ! Since then, what a 
multitude of graces, sacraments, good examples, prayers, 
meditations, and inspirations ! Count, if you can, the graces 
of one single day, of one hour, and you will be forced to 
say with the royal Prophet: "What shall I render to the 
Lord for His multiplied gifts?" Ab, Lord! you require 
of me to preserve with care, the remembrance of Thy 
benefits ! Is it not an obligation that love and gratitude 
imposes upon me, and to which I must be inviolably faith- 
ful? Give me, then, the new grace of perseverance in m.y 
present resolution of serving Thee more faithfully ! 

Second Point. 

Consider that grace being intended for yeu, and the 
richest treasure that God can give, you should often beg it 
with earnestness, receive it with gratitude, preserve it with 
the greatest care, and make it fructify to your advantage. 
Let us see, in the first place, if you fulfil all that grace 



312 on the Price of grace. 

requires of you. With grace you can do all things, but 
without it you can do nothing for your salvation. Prayer 
is an effect of grace, you should, then, ofteu beg of the God 
of mercy to grant you a love for prayer, saying with the 
Apostle : " Lord, teach me how to pray." You are the poor 
one whom He finds in indigence, the sick one who has but 
wounds to present to Him, the blind one who has 
need of some one to guide his steps, a weak reed that is 
agitated by the least wind. Now, it is grace alone, that 
makes you know your necessities, and leads you to feel the 
weight of your miseries. It is grace that dissipates all your 
darkness, that conducts you to God, and makes you say 
with a holy ardor : " O God, come to my aid ; O Lord 
make haste to help me." Other times at the sight of the 
dangers around you, you can say to Him: "Lord, save 
me, or I perish." Almighty God is always ready to listen 
to your supplications, and gives you grace suited to every 
danger, necessity, and temptation, but you, on your side, 
must be faithful in corresponding to what He gives you. 
It is by a pure effect of His mercy that He enriches your 
soul with His grace, after having preferred you to so 
many others, who perish in the darkness of error. Bless, 
then, forever, His ineffable bounty, and say to Him : " Be 
Thou blessed by all nations." 

Third Point. 

In the designs of God, each grace that you receive, 
obliges you to a new progress in the way of virtue. It is 
a talent which He confides to you. To lose or to bury it, 
is an infidelity. Grace, is that grain of mustard-seed, 
which always continues its growth, until it reaches unto 
heaven, and produces by your correspondence a degree of 
glory to God for all eternity, and a degree of love for 
3 T ourself which will have no end. Yes, for having been 
faithful to a little grace, you will love God to more ad- 
vantage for all eternity; whereas, by neglecting a little 
grace, you will lose this degree, and be, as it were, an 
ungrateful one, unworthy of new graces. Every grace lost 
is as a drop of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which 
you let fall to the ground through pure negligence. Grace, 



ON ETERNlT r. 313 

takes every day a thousand new forms, to penetrate into 
your heart. Sometimes, it is a tender voice that calls you. 
Do you listen to it with a docile ear? Sometimes, it is an 
attraction that invites you, solicits you. Are 3 7 ou faithful to 
follow it ? At other times, it is a reproach, a secret warning. 
Does it awaken your tepidity ? Grace, not only visits you 
by holy words, it also presents itself to you in the various 
exercises and duties of the day and of your state? At 
the holy table, it presents itself to you as a furnace of 
love. Does it inflame you with holy desire? Do you draw 
new strength from this celestial bread, which nourishes 
you so often ? Admitted so frequently to the Sacrament 
of penance, do yon not contract more stains by approach- 
ing, than you would by abstaining altogether? In your 
meditations, prayers, holy office, do you profit by those 
tender sentiments of piety, that grace presents to you? 
What are the effects of those holy aspirations that grace 
suggests to you? Do they elevate your soul more to God, 
and unite 3-011 to Him by new ties of holy love? are the holy 
resolutions that grace inspires you to make, as so 
many new links of the chain that attaches you to Him, and 
are they' put into practice? Your soul is that cherished 
tree, planted in the vineyard of the Lord, watered by the 
Bloocl of a God made man, cultivated by His hand, and re- 
freshed by His holy love. Does it produce that hundred- 
fold of delicious fruit? Ah, repent for your past abuse 
of grace, and resolve to profit by the future. 



MEDITATION. 

ON F.TERNITY. 

First Point. 

The eternity of God is not a succession of time ; each 
moment, each instant, it is entire. The millions of years 
that are already past, take nothing from it, and the 
millions of ages that are yet to come, will not diminish it. 
Eternity is an eternal moment, without beginning, without 



314 02? ETERNITY. 

end, without succession, without diminution. It is a 
moment, because at each instant it is entire ; it it an eternal 
moment, because this moment lasts forever. Let us call 
to mind, if possible, ages passing million after million, 
and we will see that God existed before their commence- 
ment, enjoying in Himself all his benefits, all His divine 
qualities, anterior to all ages, posterior to all, and that the 
whole eternity is rut a point, and less than an instant to 
Him. This God of goodness in creating us made us, as 
it were, partakers of this eternity. Our bodies will die, but 
our souls are immortal and will live forever. We should 
not then attach ourselves to the sweetnesses of this life, 
nor be cast down by its afflictions. We should only look 
to the pleasures and pains of eternity ; these alone should 
be our desires and our fears. Perhaps we are all ready 
at the gate of this eternity, and soon we may enter therein. 
And even should our lives be prolonged for a number of 
years, what would they be compared to eternity? What 
is the longest life, but a meie atom, a nothing, as it were? 
We advance towards its end every instant, and, may be, 
the last step will be in the next instant. If so, what would 
we not wish to have done? In what dispositions, are we 
for receiving the degree that will fix our lot for eternity ? 
Let us think well upon it, and do now what we would then 
wish to have done. 

Second Point. 

O eternity of happiness ! Sweet sojourn of the elect ! 
How many benefits hast thou prepared for us, which 
we do not seem to desire ! We attach ourselves to vain 
shadows which always elude our grasp, to perishable 
goods which will soon disappear and quit us forever. O 
where is our reason ! 

O unhappy eternity ! Fatal abyss into which so many 
sinners are plunged, with what torments dost Thou not 
threaten us, with what frightful pains ! Alas ! how little 
do we think of it, bow little do we reflect upon it, while, 
on the contrary, we fear so much the pains of this life, 
which last but a few instants! O where is our faith? 
Mortal as we are, always dying in this world, and 
destined to live forever in the next, how can we occupy 



ON ETERNITY. 315 

ourselves with any other thing than the delights of a 
happy eternity, or the horrors of a miserable one? In a 
little while, our course must be finished, and when the 
final hour strikes what will we think of past troubles, 
trials, pleasures, and so many little nothings that now 
absorb our thoughts? At this very moment, many are 
falling into eternity, their sentence is now being pro- 
nounced, and what do they think of the past? O think 
well, religious soul, of this awful truth of eternity, and, 
in its light, view the nothingness of this world. The 
thought of eternity will cause you to overcome your pride, 
it will animate you to vanquish your evil inclinations, to 
stifle your resentments, soften your pains, and make them 
supportable. It will animate your generosity for all sacri- 
fices, enlighten j t ou in doubts, strengthen 3 7 ou in your 
combats. It will be the soul of your actions, and the will 
of your conduct ; in fine, the thought of eternity will suffice 
to make you a saint, a perfect and holy religious. 

Third Point. 

Everything earthly passes away with time, days, years, 
events, ages, seasons. Yes, kings, subjects, thrones, 
crowns, dignities, honors, and all created things, are so 
many waves of the sea, that are carried with impetuosity 
one after another, until they are swallowed up and lost to the 
human eye. O souls, formed to the image and likeness of 
God ! Why will you attach yourselves to the things of 
this world, when you are made for eternity ? If you desire 
glory, seek that which is solid ; if you are avaricious, seek 
permanent riches. If you are fond of pleasures, seek the 
pure and lasting delights of heaven. 

It is certainly a great folly to run the risk of losing 
immortal riches, b} 7 seeking for Jhose of time, which you 
can enjoy but a little while ! Let us generously renounce 
everything which does not tend to eternity ; let us leave 
to this world what belongs to it and give ourselves to 
heaven. Let us henceforth speak of nothing but eternity, 
think of nothing else, have nothing else in view in our 
daily actions but eternity ; let us make it the soul of our 
occupations and duties, the rule of our conduct, the motive 



316 ON CHRIST INSTITUTING THE EUCHARIST. 

of our fears and hopes, the constant study of our whole 
lives, so that when our earthly career will be finished, an 
eternity of glory and happiness will open to receive us 
into its bosom. O Eternity ! Eternity! Eternity! What 
will be my eternity? 



MEDITATION. 

ON CHRIST INSTITUTING THE EUCHARIST. THE SACRAMENT 

OF HIS LOVE. 

First Point. 

" He riseth from Supper and layeth aside His garments; and 
having taken a towel, He girded himself. After that, Hepoureth 
water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to 
wipe them with the towel, wherewith he was girded. — John xiii., 4 5. 

LeJ us here consider the actions ; Jesus, the sovereign 
Master of heaven and earth prostrates before His Disci- 
ples and Apostles, and washes their feet ! What is more 
calculated to confound our pride ? — He stoops to kiss the 
feet of each one after washing them. He does not even 
except the treacherous Judas ! Jesus at the feet of Judas ! 
. . . He, Who is the Creator of the whole universe abases 
Himself before His creature ! And what a creature ! 
One that is about to betray Him ! Oh wonder of heaven 
and earth ! Jesus kneeling at the feet of Judas ! 
Jesus humbles Himself to the dust, and we fear to humble 
ourselves to a companion, a sister whom we may have 
offended, to one who bears the image and likeness of God. 
We fear to humble ourselves before a creature, who is 
cherished by God ; before an angel of earth, perhaps, who 
is the chosen spouse of God ! Still more, we fear to 
humble ourselves before a superior, who holds the place 
and authority of God. 

Religious souls, behold your God ! Have you endured 
humiliations like unto His ! — Jesns, places Himself 
at table. Before instituting the great and adorable 
mystery, He holds a secret interview with His Heavenly 
Father, and prays for all those, who were in future to 



ON CHRIST INSTITUTING THE EUCHARIST. 317 

partake of the heavenly food. In this moment, yon were 
present to His mind and His Heart, as if you alone were, 
or would be, in the world. See, how He loved you, and 
loves you still, every time He comes to you in Holy 
Communion. '/Take and eat," said He, "for this is 
My Body, which will be delivered for you." O powerful 
words ! " Take and eat." But it is not bread which Jesus 
holds in His hands ; it is His adorable Body, all entire, as 
God and as Man. What love is there like unto His? — 
Will you refuse to give Him your love in return ? your 
whole heart? 

Second Point. 

" I have desired to eat this Pasch with you," said our 
divine Saviour. Consider, Who it is that addresses these 
words to us. It is Jesus, our Saviour, our Spouse, our 
God, Who has descended from heaven to repair our losses, 
and procure us eternal happiness. He pronounces these 
consoliug words, at a moment when He is about to 
leave this world, which He would not quit without giving 
us a new proof of his fatherly love. They express that 
excess of love, which filled His Heart, and which He had 
felt from the first instant of His Incarnation, and which 
now assumes the form of violence. But to whom does he 
address these words? to the Apostles only? — No, He em- 
braced then, in His divine charity, all the faithful, who 
would afterwards participate in the Holy Eucharist with 
proper dispositions. He had each one of us, particularly in 
view, and saw the number of Communions each of us would 
make, and our dispositions and preparation. Every time 
we approach the Holy Table, He says to us from the 
depths of His loving Heart: "With desire I have desired 
to eat this Pasch with you." Should not these touching 
words awaken all the sentiments of your heart, and inspire 
you with a desire to correspond to the love which Jesus 
deigns to testify for you? His Heart was made for your 
redemption ; yours was made for Him, and He alone 
should be your joy, your repose, your light, your strength. 
Why, then, are you so often cold and insensible to Him ? 
It is, because you know not how sweet He is, or because you 
do not purify your heart from earthly affections, so con- 



318 ON CHRIST INSTITUTING THE EUCHARIST. 

trary to His love. It is, because you do not mortify your 
natural inclinations, your passions and love of created 
things. It is necessary to sacrifice everything that puts 
the least obstacle to the operations of grace, otherwise, 
our hearts will»not hear the voice of Jesus, they will not 
be dilated with His presence, and we will not hear from 
Him these consoling words: k4 My beloved is all to me, 
and I am all to her," which we will surely hear, if we 
are faithful to His holy love. 

Third Point. 

Jesus, having loved His own that were in the world, 
loved them to the end. God is charity, and His love is 
manifested in His works. But of all the gifts He has been 
pleased to bestow upon man, the greatest, the sweetest, 
the most precious, and the most capable of securing us 
happiness, is the gift He has made of Himself in the adora- 
ble Eucharist. 

Let us consider the moment and the time in which He in- 
stituted this Sacrament of His love. It was when He was 
near the last sacrifice of His precious life. And under what 
circumstances? It was when His own people were about 
to make Him undergo the most unworthy treatment ; 
when they were plotting to take away His life. One of 
the Apostles was about to betray Him ; another would 
soon deny Him, all would abandon Him. It was when 
He foresaw all the future sacrileges, abominations, and 
profanations, that would be committed against His sacred 
person, hidden under the Eucharistic veils. It was when He 
foresaw the desolation and solitude in which He would be 
left in so many temples ; it was when He foresaw the rage, 
fury, and blasphemies of so many heretics ; the contempt, 
coldness, and indifference of such a multitude of hearts 
that would neither love nor recognize Him. Yes, He saw 
all, counted all, knew all, felt all, at that last sad moment 
among His own. O how strong must have been that love 
which so much ingratitude was not capable of weakening ! 
Our salvation demanded the sacrifice of His life ; but his 
heart, so loving, would not permit Him to leave us orphans, 
and He invented this means of perpetuating His presence 



ON THE OBLATION OF OUR LORD JE1SUS CHRIST. 319 

among his children. He remained and still remains 
amongst us without majesty, without pomp or grandeur, 
but buried in a profound obscurity. Yes, it was truly a 
mystery of love that He instituted, for He knew that if 
His glory should be manifested, weak and timid souls 
would fear to approach Him, and His loving Heart desired 
to be communicated to all. 

O infinite goodness ! O love without measure ! How 
is it that my heart has not been, heretofore, as loving, as 
generous, as devoted to Jesus, as His is to me? O my 
divine Saviour, give me the grace always to approach 
Thee with a well prepared heart, so that all my past de- 
fects will be repaired, my soul strengthened in virtue, and 
my entire life be conformable to Thine ! 



MEDITATION. 

ON THE OBLATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

First Point. 

Consider that the principal and most worthy of all the 
oblations ever made to God was the oblation that Jesus 
Christ, true Son of God, made of Himself to His heavenly 
Father. This oblation, which began at the first moment 
of His conception, was continued during His whole life, 
until it was perfected and consummated upon the altar of 
the Cross. 

First, this divine Saviour, offered Himself to God His 
Father, as a holocaust, to honor and glorify Him, and to 
supply whatever is wanting to the adorations, homages, 
and other religious duties rendered Him by men and 
angels. For, all the honor and glory they can render to 
God in Heaven and on earth is always infinitely less than 
is due to the infinite greatness of His sovereign Majesty. 
To the Son alone it belongs to honor and glorify the 
Father, as He deserves to be honored and glorified. 

If, then, O religious soul, you desire that the oblation you 
have made of yourself should be a meritorious holocaust, 



320 ON THE OBLATION OF OCR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

by which you may worthily honor and glorify God, unite 
in spirit with Jesus Christ, enter into all this divine 
Saviour's sentiments of respect and love for His Father, 
and renew the offering and sacrifice of yourself to this 
heavenly Father, through the merits of His Son, as a 
holocaust destined solely for His honor and glory. 

But remember that the victim offered in holocaust ought 
to be wholly consumed in the sacrificial fire ; nor is it per- 
mitted to reserve anything whatever ; and, consequently, in 
order to render your oblation perfect, you must immolate 
it entirely to God in the flames of pure love. 

Oh ! what a blessing for you, if, on coming out of re- 
treat, you can truly say with the apostle : w4 1 live, now 
not I ; but Christ liveth in me/' (Gal. ii., 20). 

Consider further, that Our Lord offered Himself not 
only as a holocaust to honor God His Father, but also as 
a Victim of propitiation for our sins. As St. John says, 
"' He is the propitiation for our sins : and not for ours only, 
but also for those of the whole world." (I. John ii., 2.) 

Yes, this divine Saviour was the Lamb of God, Who, by 
His death, took away the sins of the world; He offered 
Himself to the divine justice, as that Victim of the old 
Law, that was charged with the sins of the people. 
tk Who His own self," as says the Prince of the Apostles, 
" bore our sins in His Bod) 7 ," upon the Cross, as upon an 
altar, " to expiate them by His Blood and His death," that 
" we being dead to sins, should live to justice." (I. Pet. ii., 
24). 

If, then, O religious soul, you wish to be perfectly con- 
formable to your amiable Saviour, you must make 
your oblation not only a holocaust, but also a sacrifice 
of expiation ; that is, reflecting upon all that you have ever 
done to displease God, and conceiving perfect sorrow for 
it, you should renew the holy and religious oblation you 
have made of yourself, with the particular intention to 
repair the offences } r ou have committed against the majesty 
of God and to satisfy His justice. But this intention 
must extend to the remaining years of your life, and all 
that you will henceforth do in the religious state must 
be, as it w r ere, a continuation of this sacrifice of expiation. 
You must consider yourself only as a victim, to be immo- 



ON THE OBLATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 321 

lated every day and consumed in the flames of loving 
sorrow, or dolorous love, and that death alone will put an 
end to this sacrifice. 

Yes, even though you should have the same assurance 
of the remission of your sins which St. Magdalen had, if 
there is in your heart a spark of the true love of God, 
with it, you must enkindle every day the fire of sacrifice ; 
and never should you think that you have sufficiently 
expiated the offences committed against a goodness that 
you can never sufficiently love. 

Second Point. 

Consider that the oblation of Jesus Christ, containing in 
itself by exci Hence the perfection of all the ancient sacri- 
fices, was not only a holocaust and a sacrifice of propitia- 
tion, but also a peace-offering of thanksgiving and impe- 
tration. 

Yes, this divine Saviour offered Himself upon the cross, 
and still offers Himself daily upon our altars to His heav- 
enly Father, as a peace-offering, as a worthy thanksgiving 
for all the graces and mercies that God unceasingly 
bestows upon men, and to obtain new favors for them. 

Alas ! what would become of us, if this kind and loving 
Saviour did not continually present Himself before the 
Face of His Father, as the holy Apostle says, to repair 
our offences and ingratitude, and to obtain the grant of our 
petitions, which would be rejected, rather than received 
and favorably heard, if we had not such an Advocate, 
before the throne of the divine Majesty. 

Reflect seriousty upon this truth, and acknowledge the 
need you have of this divine Mediator, in order to render 
acceptable to God the renewal of your oblation, which you 
are about to make. Having united yourself to Him with 
lively faith, perfect confidence, and ardent love, prepare 
to offer yourself ouce more to God as a peace-offering, and 
to make this sacrifice and oblation of yourself in thanks- 
giving for the countless favors and blessings, that it has 
pleased His infinite goodness to bestow upon you, and, dis- 
posing your soul for their reception, beg Him to giant you 
the continuation and increase of His graces, and, especially, 
21 



322 ON THE OBLATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

that of inviolable fidelity and loving perseverance in the 
blessing of your vocation. 

Consider, and be attentive to the words that the holy 
Apostle employs to make you understand and realize the 
excess of love that Jesus Christ evinced in offering and 
sacrificing Himself for you. He says: "The charity of 
Christ presseth us." (II Cor. v., 14.) Alas! is there 
anything capable of pressing our hearts with sweeter 
violence, th.in to see ourselves prevented by the love of a 
God ! O Lord, "what is man, that Thou art mindful of 
him !" (Ps. viii., 5). 

But how is it, that this divine charity presseth us? It 
is, says the Apostle, when "judging this," considering, 
reflecting with attention upon this truth, "that if one died 
for all, then all were dead." (II. Cor. v., 14.) Yes, we 
were all dead by the death of sin, and we could never of 
ourselves come forth from this state of death, so that, to 
draw us from it and restore us to life, it was necessary, as 
says the same Apostle, " that Jesus Christ should die for 
all." And, consequently, it was necessary that Jesus 
Christ should die for you in particular, and that He should 
bear you in special remembrance upon the altar of the 
Cross. If you did not acknowledge this truth and say, 
with the same Apostle, " Who loved me and delivered 
Himself for me," (Gal. ii., 20.) you would be faithless 
and ungrateful. 

But what follows from this, if not, as the Apostle, 
concludes "that they also, who live, may not now live to 
themselves, but unto Him who died for them." 

Say, then, in your heart : O my Jesus, my Saviour, 
Thou didst die to give me life : then, my life is no longer 
mine, but wholly Thine ; I owe it to Thee, and I give it to 
Thee, and, in order to do so, I offer and sacrifice it to the 
manner of life, that is most pleasing to Thee and most 
according to my condition and capacity. 

I wish, then, no longer to live to myself, but to Thee ; 
and I make this choice, in order the better to live to Thee 
and the less to myself. 

This is, indeed, the reason that I give myself with my 
whole heart to Him, Who has so generously and lovingly 
delivered Himself for me, 



ON THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 32b 

MEDITATION. 

ON THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 

First Point. 

The hear 1- , of Jesus promised humility to the Order of 
the Visitation. 

"If the sisters of this congregation are very humble 
and faithful to God, they will have the Heart of Jesus, 
their crucified Spouse, as their place of retreat and repose 
in this world, and His heavenly palace for their abode in 
eternal life." 

Our holy founder, during his mortal life, made his 
abode in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in which his repose 
was never interrupted by the most distracting occupations. 
Moses, by conversing familiarly with God, became the 
meekest of men, and our Blessed Father, by his intimate 
union with the divine Heart of Jesus, acquired the perfec- 
tion of the two virtues of this adorable Heart, humility 
and meekness. 

Later, our great saint established the Order of the 
■Visitation to render, by the practice of meekness and 
humility, continual homage to the adorable Heart of Jesus 
in His hidden and annihilated life. These two virtues 
are the basis and foundation of our Institute, and entitle 
us to the incomparable privilege of bearing the appella- 
tion of Daughters of the 8 acred Heart of Jesus. 

On the 10th of June, 1611, our holy founder wrote to 
our holy mother : " God gave me, last night, the thought 
that our house of the Visitation is, by His grace, noble 
and important enough to possess its coat-of-arms, its 
escutcheon, its motto and its legend. I think, then, clear 
mother, that we shall take for our coat-of-arms a heart 
pierced with two arrows, encircled by a crown of thorns, 
and surmounted by a cross, the lower end of which shall 
be in the cavity of this poor heart and be graven with the 
sacred names of Jesus and Mary." 

And what was this 10th of June, 1611? It was the 



324: ON THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 

Friday after the octave of the. Blessed Sacrament ; that 
is, the very day chosen from all eternity to be consecrated 
to the Sacred Heart, the day on which our Lord said, sixty 
years later, to Blessed Margaret Mary : " I desire that 
the Friday after the octave of the Blessed Sacrament 
shall be throughout the Church a solemn feast, in honor of 
My divine Heart." 

It was, then, on this self-same day that our holy 
founder gave to our rising Institute, for device and 
standard, a heart crowned with thorns I 

"My daughter," continues our holy founder, in his 
letter of June 10, 1611, (i when next we meet, I shall tell 
you, on this subject, a thousand little thoughts that have 
occurred to me, for truly, our little congregation is the 
work of Jesus and Mary. The Saviour, when dying, 
generated us by the opening of His Sacred Heart." 

Behold the Visitation at its birth, our venerated Insti- 
tute in its cradle. . . . Behold how St. Francis of 
Sales sees his daughters, in the distant future, all lodged 
in the Heart of Jesus ..... or rather, all the hearts of 
his cherished daughters around this Sacred Heart, doing 
Him homage as the sovereign King of hearts ! . . . . He 
sees them . . . daughters, adorers and servants of the 
loving Heart of our divine Saviour . . . faithful imi- 
tators of His meekness and humility. Henceforth, 
our holy mother, St. Chantal, practised the virtue of 
humility, as if she had vowed it. Moreover, we find in the 
lives of our first mothers and sisters many touching ex- 
amples, which fill with heavenly perfume the twelve 
volumes of the "Holy Year." Humility, practised with 
such constancy by millions of souls, passing into a holy 
habit, and becoming the spirit of the whole Order, was 
powerful enough to penetrate the heavens, ravish the 
adorable Heart of Jesus, and lodge Him in the humble 
garden of the Visitation, thence to inundate the world 
with very special graces. . . 

Second Point. 

The Heart of Jesus given to the humility of the Order 
of the Visitation, in the person of Blessed Margaret Mary 
Alacoque. 



ON THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, 325 

The prepared canvas was ready the heart and 

soul of our blessd sister had expanded under the rays of 
grace and been formed to the practices of the religious 
life. The three grand revelations of the devotion to the 
Sacred Heart of Jesus were to re-animate the world, 
frozen by religious indifference, and tore-kindle the sacred 
fire, which was alas ! almost extinguished. What privi- 
ledged soul burning with love, will God choose to cor- 
respond to His designs? Our Blessed Sister Margaret 
Mary, the humblest, firmest, most self-abased and un- 
wavering of souls ! a soul invincible in patience, ardent 
in love, insatiable in the strength of sacrifice and devoted- 
ness .... and, especially, a soul of a loftiness, delicacy 
and depth of feeling, capable of understanding the Heart 
of the divine Master and executing His purposes. 

The first revelation, concerning devotion to the Sacred 
Heart of Jesus, took place on the feast of St. John the 
Evangelist, the very day, on which, three hundred and 
fifty-three years before, St. Gertrude had learned, in a 
vision, that, if the well-beloved Disciple has said nothing 
of the sacred pulsations of the adorable Heart of Jesus, 
it was because God reserved to Himself to speak of them 
at a time, when the world would begin to grow cold. In 
this first revelation, Jesus made Blessed Margaret Mary 
rest for a long time on His divine breast. His adorable 
Heart was represented to her, as upon a throne of fire 
and flames darting out ra}s on all sides. It was more 
brilliant than the sun, and transparent as crystal. The 
Wound visibly appeared ; encircling this divine Heart 
was a crown of thorns and, surmounting it, a cross. 
Jesus gave her to understand that these instruments of 
His Passion signified His immense love for men, which 
led Him to accept all the sufferings of His holy Humanity, 
and the outrages offered Him in the Blessed Sacrament 
of the Altar until the consummation of ages. B He 
made known to her His passionate desire to be loved by 
men, and the design He had formed of manifesting 
to them His Heart, to enrich them with its precious 
treasures of love, grace, mercy, sanctitication and salva- 
tion. Jesus assured our blessed Sister that He takes 
singular pleasure in being honored under the figure of this 



326 ON THJE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 

Heart of flesh. He wishes that its image should be publicly 
exposed, promises that wherever it is particularly honored 
it will draw down all sorts of blessings, and adds: " I 
have chosen thee, from an abyss of unworthiness and igno- 
rance, to accomplish so great a design, so that all may 
be done b}' Me." 

Religious Soul, who art making this meditation, thou 
it is whom Jesus addresses, as formerly He did thy 
Blessed Sister : "From all eternity, I have had designs 
of love over thee. . . I have chosen thee. . . I have 
chosen thee, by drawing thee out of the nothingness in 
which thou wast plunged, and creating thee in time. . . . 
7 have chosen thee, by washing thee in the waters of Bap- 
tism, preferring thee to millions of souls, whom I have 

left in ignorance of the true God / have chosen 

thee from among those who strayed in the tortuous paths 

of schism and error I have chosen thee and 

crowned My graces, by bestowing on thee the inestimable 
gift of a religious vocation, separating thee from the mul- 
titude to make thee My spouse. . . "I have loved thee 
iv ith an everlasting love; therefore have I drawn thee." — 
(Jeremias xxxi., 3). 

In the second revelation, Jesus Christ appeared to our 
Blessed Sister, brilliant with glory ; His five Wounds 
shining like five suns. Flames darted forth from all parts 
of His sacred Humanity, but especially from His adorable 
Breast, which resembled a furnace. Jesus unveiled His 
Heart, the living Source of these flames. . . He unfold- 
ed the inexplicable wonders of His pure love. . . He 
complained of the ingratitude of men and added, at the 
close of this apparition; "Do you, at least, console and 
rejoice Me by supplying as much as you can for their in- 
gratitude." For this purpose, Fie asked of her two things : 
1st. To communicate on the first Friday of each month, 
in order to make reparation to Him. 

2nd. To rise between eleven o'clock and midnight of the 
night between Thursday and Friday every week, and to 
prostrate for an hour, with her face to the ground, in expia- 
tion of the sins of men, and to console His Heart for that 
general desertion, to which the weakness of the Apostles 
in the Garden of Olives had been only a slight prelude. 



ON THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 327 

Our Lord, thus addressing our Blessed Sister, addresses 
all Religious of the Visitation. . . He addresses you 
and me : " Do you, at least, give Me this pleasure." . . 
Hence, our lives, our whole lives, should be those of repara- 
tion for the crimes of the world. . . . what consolation, 
then, has our lives given to the Heart of Jesus ? . . . 

In the third revelation, our Blessed Sister received ex- 
traordinary graces. Our Lord appeared upon the altar 
and manifested to her His Heart : " Behold," He said to 
her! "this Heart which has so loved men!" He com- 
plains of their ingratitude, irreverence, sacrileges, coldness 
and contempt for Him in this Sacrament of Love. What 
is most painful to Jesus is that they that so treat Him 
are hearts consecrated to Him. Our Lord asks blessed 
Margaret Mary that the first Friday after the octave of 
the Blessed Sacrament be dedicated as a special feast 
in honor of His Sacred Heart, by communicating on 
that day, and making reparation for the indignities 
He receives. He promises that His Heart shall expand 
to pour out abundantly the influences of His Divine love 
on all that will render Him this honor, or procure its 
being rendered to Him. 

In this revelation, our Lord invites all the houses of 
the Institute, all the Religious of the Visitation, to render 
especial worship to His Divine Heart. . . "He showed 
me," says our Blessed Sister later, in relating another 
vision, " the devotion to His Sacred Heart as a beautiful 
tree, destined from all eternity, to spring up and take 
root in the midst of our Institute, and to extend its branches 
into the houses that compose it, so that each- may 
gather from it fruits most pleasing to her taste and liking, 
although not all in equal measure, for this will be propor- 
tioned to the labor, as the profit will be to the good dis- 
positions of those who feed upon them. This divine 
Heart desires also that the Daughters of the Visitation 
should abundantly distribute to all that will eat of them the 
fruits of this sacred tree, without fearing that they will fail." 
Happy, but astonished at this mission, perhaps we will 
say, like our humble Sister Margaret Mary : " Lord how 
can I?" Separated from the world by our blessed en- 
closure, hidden behind our grates, in our humble and 



328 UPON OUR LORD IN THE SEPULCHRE. 

obs lire life. . . Jesus, how can I? Let us 

be humble and hidden souls, souls of prayer, souls of 
"heavenly colloquies," but, particularly, souls enamored 
of love divine, souls of sacrifice. . . and we will have a 
power, a sway, over the Heart of Jesus, to which He can 
refuse nothing, and He, Himself, will do all for us. 



MEDITATION. 

"UPON OUR LORD IN THE SEPULCHRE. 

First Point. 

Our Lord in His tomb offers us an image of a most 
perfect life by His extreme solitude, His absolute depend- 
ence on the will of others, and His inseparable union 
with the Divinity. Let us follow in spirit the body of 
this adorable Saviour to the place of its burial, let us 
enter therein, and be with Him all alone for a little while. 
What shall we there see but obscurity, silence, a frightful 
quiet? Oh ! what a profound repose, what unalterable recol- 
lection, what an active and passive forgetfulness ! He 
uses not His senses, He is blind, deaf and dumb, and 
nothing shows He was ever of this world ! True image, 
indeed, of what a good Christian should be, still more, 
of what a good religious should be. He there shows what 
those persons should be, who, withdraw from the world 
to consecrate themselves to God, in order to fulfil the 
better the promises made at their baptism. It is to express 
this sentiment of death to the world, that at the profession 
of a religious, we have some of the ceremonies and 
prayers used at burials ; that they prostrate under a 
funeral pall, there to remain hidden for some time. It is 
for this, that we chant over them the De Pmfundis and 
other psalms that the Church uses when bearing her chil- 
dren to the grave. According to the civil law, from this 
day the professed religious no longer belongs to society ; 
she is dead, and her life is hidden with Jesus Christ in 
God. Was it not in a kind of sepulchre that St. Paul, 



UPON OUR LORD IN THE SEPULCHRE. 329 

the first hermit buried himself for the space of ninety 
years, after he had quitted all things in this world? He 
did not even know that men still existed in the world, for 
he asked : Do they still build cities ? Do they still have 
wars? Are there many idolaters remaining? Behold the 
questions he put to St. Anthony three or four days before 
he died. 

Second Point. 

We should, from the moment of our professon, live un- 
known to the world, as we are no more of it. A religious 
soul, who would seek to appear before the world, should 
be regarded as a phantom, and the people of the world 
have just reason to say, when she concerns herself about 
earthly things: "What right has she to mix with us?" 
And, on the contrary, the} 7 are greatly edified, when they 
see or hear her complain of having her solitude inter- 
rupted by w r orldlings. Jesus Christ in his tomb is an image 
of the most perfect life, by His absolute dependence on 
the will of others. He has no will, no movement, He suf- 
fers Himself to be laid wherever others choose. He seems 
to say to his eternal Father : "When you will call Me, then 
will I answer." He leaves to men the care of his Body, 
indifferent as to whether it be covered with earth, or with 
flowers, with indignity or with honor. It makes no differ- 
ence to Him whether they give Him a funeral service, or 
refuse it to Him. He cares for nothing that concerns this 
precious Body, the delight of the angels, who surround it in 
awful and silent adoration. Thus, religious soul, should 
you be immovable, indifferent to all that concerns your 
body, but supple and docile to the inspirations of God, 
attentive to the voice of superiors, as to the voice of 
Jesus Christ Himself, pliant and condescending to the 
inclinations of others and to the necessities of your neigh- 
bors, always reacty, day or night, to quit your repose at 
the voice of obedience, or the call of charity. "My repose 
is not death, but a sweet sleep," said St. Irene from her 
tomb to the holy Bishop Spiridion, her Spiritual Father, 
who ordered her to declare what she had done with a certain 
deposit entrusted to her care. So should the truly relig- 
ious soul exclaim at the voice of obedience, or the call of 



330 UPON OUR LORD* IN THE SEPULCHRE. 

charity ; " Dispose of me as you like, for I am no 
longer my own," and we may add, that " she is dead, and 
her life is hidden with Jesus Christ in God." 

Ihird Point. 

Jesus Christ is an image of the most perfect life, by His 
intimate union with the Divinity. His Body, although sepa- 
rated from the soul, ceased not to be united with the Eter- 
nal Word. He was, therefore, living a superhuman life, 
although dead in appearance. In this, He should be 
our Model, for as St. Paul says, we are dead, but our life is 
hidden with our divine Redeemer. A religious soul is both 
living and dead, living the life of God, and dead to the 
world. Now, we can only attain to this supernatural life in 
God by death to our senses and to nature ; therefore, there 
should be no reserve, everything should be sacrificed. 
We must remain continually in the presence of God, and 
perform every act with Him, through Him, and for Him. 
We must pray incessantly, and stand, as it were, between 
God and his creatures, to supplicate His mercy for them. 
Oh ! who could regret leaving all for God, when there is so 
much offered here that is most sublime, far above all that 
this world could possibly bestow ? A religious who leads 
a hidden and mortified life, will therein find such ex- 
traordinary sweetness, that she will be forced to cry out 
with St. Anthony, who finding the night so short said to 
the rising sun : " Why do you come to trouble my repose? 
to interrupt my communications with God?" Yes, it is 
granted to the hidden religious to say at the end of her 
mortal career, " I would never have believed it was so 
sweet to die." This world is without sweetness or con- 
solation to a soul who has commenced her beatitude here 
below, and her natural death will be but as an effort of 
love, a passage from God to God, from one paradise to 
another. O my Jesus ! hidden in Thy holy Sepulchre, 
give me the grace to lead a hidden and retired life, with my 
heart disengaged from all that is earthly, and fixed upon 
Thee alone, for Whom I was made, and with Whom I am 
to dwell eternally in the land of the blessed ! 



OK THE PROMISES MADE AT BAPTISM. 331 

MEDITATION. 

ON THE PROMISES MADE AT BAPTISM. 

First Point. 

Consider what you were in the eyes of faith, at the 
moment of your birth. The unfortunate child of a father 
still more unfortunate, lr\~ whose disobedience you became 
guilty. This is a fundamental article of faith which you 
must admit and believe. In that sad state, heaven was 
closed for 3^011 ; you were the enemy of .God and the slave 
of satan. But, our Lord Who, in the rigor of His justice, 
could have left you in the way of perdition, as He has left 
so many others, by a wonderful effect of His love, and a 
predilection which you did not merit, cast upon you a 
look of His mercy. By the ministry of His priest, He 
poured upon you a sacred water which purified you from 
every stain. From that happy moment, He established 
His throne in your heart, enriched it with His graces, and 
banished from it the spirit of darkness who held you captive. 
You were ornamented with the most august titles and 
delivered from a ship-wreck far more dangerous than that 
which threatened the child Moses. A Guardian Angel 
was appointed to protect and defend you ; you became 
the child of God, a member of Jesus Christ, and the temple 
of the Holy Ghost. The eternal Father adopted you for 
His own, acknowledged you as affiliated to His divine 
Son, and participating, as it were, of His Divine nature. 

If worldlings pride themselves so highly on their noble 
extraction, what glory should you not boast of in being 
the child of God? you, who from a vile nothing became a 
celestial and divine being? This thought should often 
be present to you, and fill you with the most lively grati- 
tude to so good, so merciful, so loving a Father. With- 
out being rash or presumptuous you can exclaim: "I 
am the child of God ! Heaven is my inheritance ! To 
attach myself to anything on earth is unworthy of my 
birth; unworthy of my illustrious family, since I am de- 
scended from God Himself ! The worldly can satisfy their 



332 ON THE PROMISES MADE AT BApTISM. 

passions, but for me, I aspire to eternal happiness ; a senti- 
ment all divine fills my soul to elevate it to heaven." re- 
ligious Soul ! think of thy obligation as a christian only, 
and see what is required of thee. Thy religious vows 
are but new means of making thee observe more perfectly 
those contracted in Baptism. Thou canst not be un- 
faithful in one without infringing on the other. 

Second Point. 

You are the child of God, but have you not tarnished 
the lustre of so glorious a title by some infidelity ? Have 
you always been a submissive and grateful child? God 
has never ceased to cherish and love you, but have you 
always thought of Him, loved Him, and served Him? 
Have you always glorified His name? Have you always 
corresponded to His benefits, by fidelity in acknowledging 
them and thanking His goodness for them ? Have you 
followed His holy Will in all things, both little and great? 
Have you been docile and obedient to His orders ? Ah, 
the remembrance of all these benefits, of all these occa- 
sions when you could have proved 3 T our fidelity, perhaps will 
give rise to some bitter regrets. To you, who are 
privileged souls, destined by a special predilection to live 
in this holy sanctuary, we may speak, and ask if you have 
not added to the holy promises of Baptism the more sacred 
and solemn vows of religion? Yes, and thereby multi- 
plied your obligations a thousand-fold. You have offered 
yourself as a holocaust ; the victim is on the altar, you 
cannot withdraw it without a sacrilege. In the school of 
piety and perfection where you have placed yourself, every- 
thing should animate your fervor, every step should lead 
you to a higher degree of sanctity ; every word, act and 
thought should increase your merit, your eternal glory. 
But alas ! it often happens, that those who have chosen 
God for their Spouse provoke His vengeance by their 
wilful infidelities, and, instead of becoming more holy, fall 
back, and become less christian, perhaps, than they would 
have been in the world. God alone should be the object 
of the love of a religious, and the sacred fire of divine 
love the only flame which should burn in her heart. After 



ON THE PROMISES MADE AT BAPTISM. 333 

having broken all the bonds that attached her to earth, He 
should be her only treasure. By the sacrifice she has made 
of her will, she should be ready, at eveiy monent, to 
receive the commands of those who guide her on the part 
of God. Everything in her should be for God, in God, 
and with God, for such is the indispensable obligation im- 
posed on her by the promises of Baptism, strengthened and 
renewed by the vows of religion. Fidelity on her part is 
the only sure pledge of her eternal happiness. Reflect 
upon the past, the present, and the future, and let not so 
many means of perfection be lavished on you in vain ; a 
rigorous account awaits every wilful violation of your 
sacred engagements ; and a bright reward for their fulfil- 
ment is promised by Him to Whom alone you belong and 
for Whom you were created. 

Third Point. 

When you received holy Baptism, our Lord adopted you 
as one of His chosen members. From that moment, His 
Blood flowed in your veins, and one same principle of life 
animated } 7 ou. Yes, said St. Jerome, when your spon- 
sors presented you in the temple, to receive the holy sacra- 
ment of Baptism, when they pronounced for you the sacred 
promises that engaged you forever to God, the celestial 
spirits flocked around you, to receive you as their brother, 
and bear your sacred enrolment to heaven. The paper 
on which they wrote what they witnessed was the Book of 
Life ; the ink they used was the Blood of Jesus Christ ; the 
character that was imprinted on you was the seal of God. 
Now all these things were recorded not only in the 
register of Baptism, but placed also in the archives 01 
eternity, where they will be kept, and when you appear 
before the judgment-seat of God, they will be presented 
to you as the most sacred law upon which your lot will 
be decided. 

If Jesus Christ is your head, }T>u should be animated 
with His Spirit and have no sentiments but such as He 
had. From the crib to the cross this divine Master said 
to you : " Learn of Me, that I am meek and humble of 
heart." Are you fully convinced of the truth that you 



334 ON TEE PROMISES MADE AT BAPTISM. 

should be humble and meek? Do you never desire the 
first rank, the highest honors, the greatest distinctions? 
Do you ever really seek obscurity and silence? Do you 
desire to be passed by as nothing, forgotten, neglected, 
despised? Do not humiliation and censure cause your 
self-love to revolt? or, at least, do they not disquiet your 
heart? You have renounced the world with all its pomps, 
but do you not still fear to give some displeasure to 
worldlings? Do you really flee from its maxims, its 
intercourse, its spirit? Do you not seek its admiration, 
feel its sarcasms and try to keep with it? You have re* 
nouuced the devil and all his works? Do you not listen 
to his suggestions when you neglect little things not of 
absolute obligation ? Do you not give him pleasure by 
following your pride on occasions when you should 
humble yourself ? You have renounced the flesh with all 
its temptations ; do you mortify your senses, your ap- 
petites, your love of ease and so many other things that 
nature seeks for? Do you live for God alone? Have 
you a great fear of displeasing Him? A great desire to 
please Him? 

Ah, religious soul ! humble yourself profoundly under 
the powerful hand of God, at seeing yourself so far 
removed from your model, Jesus Christ. Deplore your 
faults, and renew with a new courage the promises of 
3?our Baptism and the sacred Vows you may since have 
added. Offer to your offended and irritated, but loving 
and forgiving God, a sincere resolution of being all His 
in the future, of being true to the least part of your en- 
gagements, and forever faithful in the observance of your 
sacred vows. 



ON CONSIDERING OURS EL FES PILGRIMS, 335 



MEDITATION. 

ON CONSIDERING OURSELVES PILGRIMS IN IMITATION OF 
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

First Point. 

Every Christian soul, and especially a religious, should 
consider herself as a pilgrim on earth, and, after the 
example of our Lord, use all things as if they were not, 
A traveller uses all that he meets with as belonging to 
another and not to himself; he attaches himself neither to 
house, nor conveniences of any kind ; he knows that to- 
day or to-morrow he must leave them to seek others 
further on. Thus, the christian and religious soul lives 
disengaged from all things, and attaches herself to nothing 
because this is not the place of her abode. A pilgrim 
travels with diligence, especially when the days are 
short and bad. "My brethren, " says St. Paul, " let us 
advance rapidly towards perfection, for time is short 
and death approaches." Is it thus that you act? Are 
you detached from all, the world, creatures, conveniences? 
Do you advance in the way of perfection ? Do you hasten ? 
Do you run, as it were? Our Lord never delayed, and for 
this reason, He says to you: "If any one wishes to 
come after Me, let him take up his cross daily and follow 
Me." 

But, religious soul, it is not sufficient for you to be a 
pilgrim on earth, you must be still more crucified, as was 
your divine Model, for St. Paul has declared that whoever 
follows Jesus Christ must crucify his flesh with all its 
vices and bad inclinations. And St. Bernard says, that 
to be crucified is to esteem as delights what the world 
considers crosses, and crosses, what the world considers 
delights. To be crucified say the Holy Fathers is to be so 
strongly attached to the Will of God, by the nails of faith, 
hope and love, that nothing can ever separate us from it. 
An ordinary pilgrim can travel as he pleases, can advance 
or return as it suits him ; but a crucified soul is deprived 
of the use and liberty of his faculties and members, and to 



336 ON CONSIDERING OURSELVES PILGRIMS. 

every temptation can say : " How can I do this or that, 
when I am crucified? How can I offend my God, Who is 
so merciful to me? It is in vain that you tempt me, I 
am crucified, and have no longer the liberty of sinning 
Therefore, depart from me ! 

Second Point. 

This degree of perfection is good, but it does not suffice. 
She, who is fastened to the cross with Jesus, can still see 
all around her, can hear what is passing, and make some use 
of her other senses. But the religious, who desires to be 
perfect, must also die with our Lord ; that is, she must be 
entirely dead to the life of the senses, and to all natural 
satisfactions. A body without life no longer sees, feels, 
hears, fears or desires ; we may ill treat it with blows and 
injurious words, and it will give no sign of offence, or re- 
sentment. So should the religious be, perfectly dead to 
all the sensibilities of nature and self-love ; or, at least, 
she should repress, restrain, and stifle them so effectually, 
that none may perceive she has them. But, it is not suffi- 
cient for her to be dead to all the feelings of nature ; she 
must also be buried ; that is, she must be reduced to 
ashes, consumed and annihilated, if we may so speak, if 
she would wish to be perfect. A body without life is 
perfectly indifferent to all that concerns it ; we may 
render it honor or not, may bury it with pomp, or cast it 
upon a dung-hill, and it has nothing to say ; once interred, 
all is finished for it ; we remove from it, forget it, and 
would wish never more to see it. Thus, a religious soul, 
who tends sincerely towards perfection, should be buried 
with cur Lord according to these words of the Apostle : 
"your life is hidden with Jesus Christ in God." Hence- 
forth, 3'ou should be unknown to the world, despised, 
forgotten, and abandoned by it. It is a necessity, the 
consequence and punishment of sin ; therefore, a truly 
religious soul should be without glory, without satisfac- 
tions, without pleasures, and without a natural life ; con- 
sidering herself before God and men as nothing, until she 
will be resuscitated in God, Who will then charge Him- 
self with her glory. 



ON CONSIDERING OURSELVES PILGRIMS. 337 



TJiird Point. 

The highest degree of christian and religious perfection 
is to descend with our Lord Jesus Christ from the tomb 
into Limbo, by despoiling ourselves of all consolation, both 
spiritual and temporal ; remaining in darkness, in the 
sensible privation of God, and in an exile of the heart, 
under the power of the demon himself, if God permits it, 
without trouble, diffidence or murmur, until our divine 
Saviour comes to draw us from the abyss, to make us 
arise and lead a sjtill more spiritual and supernatural 
life. We must follow Jesus, step by step, until we arrive 
with Him at the glorious goal which He has promised us, not 
stopping on our way, but hurrying to repair lost time, 
and keeping before us, the object of our life, our conse- 
cration, our continual immolation and sacrifice. Let us 
see what our progress has been, and at what point we now 
are. Are we disengaged from all things as pilgrims upon 
earth? Do we really contemn the v,orld, its vain customs, 
maxims, and opinions ? Have we any desire for the goods 
of the world, its conveniences and the like? Are we as 
indifferent to good and bad treatment as a body without 
life? Are we not sensitive still to marks of disesteem, 
dishonor, and contempt? Do we not feel it when we are 
slighted, or forgotten ? when no affection is shown us by 
our relations, friends, sisters, and others? Do we sin- 
cerely desire to be hidden from all worldly view? Are we 
as willing to be in hell with God, as in Paradise without 
Him ? Are we contented and satisfied to live, deprived of 
all His gifts, of all His consolations, as well as in the 
privation of all created goods? O sacred annihilation, 
wherein the soul loses her own being to possess that of 
God ; wherein she returns to her original nothingness ! O 
living sepulchres, where the wise ones of this world build 
a heavenly solitude ! O christian and religious Soul ! re- 
nounce all creatures, and especially yourself, that you 
may live for God alone, who will be to you a Paradise of 
delights in this world, and your everlasting glory in 
heaven. God alone in all things , and all things in God 
alone ! 

22 



338 ON AVOIDING RELAPSES. 



MEDITATION. 

* ON AVOIDING ALL RELAPSES INTO OUR FORMER 
FAULTS. 

First Point. 

The religious soul, to animate herself and to avoid the 
dreadful misfortune of a relapse, should diligently apply 
herself to discover the illusions and errors into which she 
has hitherto fallen. Seeking the causes of her past 
relaxations, she should take the means of no more falling 
into them. How have you hitherto gone astray ? What 
has been the source of your relaxations in the spiritual 
life? Have you remembered the grace of your vocation 
and the sanctity of your obligations to support yourself 
in the austere life of your profession ? As the servant, the 
beloved, the spouse of Jesus Christ, have you always 
borne in mind your titles and your duties? The fidelity 
which a servant owes her master, a friend her friend, a 
spouse her spouse, should have been yours. The faith- 
ful servant alwaj's acts as if she Were under the eye of 
her master, counting as a theft, every moment of her life, 
that is not employed in the service of him to whom she 
owes everything. Thus, should a religious soul walk 
always in the presence of her divine Master, Who has 
His eyes constantly fixed upon her. 

The faithful friend is always thinking of her friend, 
and is never wearied with serving her, even in the least 
things. Thus should the religious observe, with unremit- 
ting fervor, the least obligations of her state, as well as 
its essential duties. The faithful spouse has no heart 
but for her Spouse, and her mind is occupied only with 
him, whether He be present or absent. Thus should the 
religious, dead to the world, and buried in the cloister 
with her divine Spouse, banish from her mind and heart 
every care, but that of pleasing Him. Too much attention 
to exterior objects is often the cause of a quick relapse. 
Alas ! how fatal to many is that close connection that 
exists between the heart and the senses ! How often, aa 



ON AVOIDING RELAPSES. 339 

the prophet Jeremiah says, does the eye destroy the soul ! 
It was by goiDg out of your heart that you fell into 
relaxation ; it will be, therefore, by incessantly re-entering 
it, that you will prevent new infidelities. 

A religious should live, as if there were none but God 
and herself in the world. The solitude of the heart should 
be to her what the mystical ark, which floated upon the 
waters of the deluge, was to the dove. When her mind 
escapes and returns to the world, she should look upon it 
as out of its centre and elemeut, and take no rest until 
she has recalled it. Has not the idea you had formed o 
the little duties of religion led you insensibly to neglect 
the greatest of those duties? You considered such and 
such practices as useless, under the pretext that perfection 
of virtue does not consist in fulfilling them ; and this false 
idea, after having led you into many irregularities, has 
conducted you, perhaps, to the greatest relaxation 
Convinced, as you now are, that whe an affair is of 
consequence, everything is important nthat can preven 
the loss of it ; that, from the little, one easily passes to 
the great ; that the little even becomes great when we 
neglect it ; you should never voluntarily transgress the 
least observance of your Rule. You should not permit 
yourself anything under pretext of its being but a little 
sin, because everything is great before God, and often 
that which seems little, is of tl e greatest consequence in 
the eyes of God. Y"ou know not, but that the grace of 
perseverance is attached to that least observance, or that 
your destruction depends on the cou tempt you have for it. 
In a word, as there is a close connection between the 
greatest and the least ; as the great depends upon the 
least, and as the small are useless without the great, you 
should conduct yourself with regard to all your observances, 
in the manner which Jesus Christ Himself has prescribed, 
acquitting yourself of the great, and never neglecting the 
small, however inconsiderable they may seem. 

Second Point. 

How has it hitherto been with you, O my soul? Every 
yaar, in your retreat, you renewed your good desires and 



340 ON A VOIDING RELAPSES. 

promises., but hare you thought of renewing your life? 
You protested that you loved God, and would in future 
belong entirely to Him, but did your protestations prevent 
you from clinging to self? What did your apparent fervor 
and devotion produce in you? Was it simply the effect 
which fire usually produces on water? It penetrates it, 
heats it, makes it boil, — but how long? As long as 
the fire lasts, that is to say, some moments. When 
the fire is extinguished the water returns to its first 
state ; it resumes its natural coldness ; it is more suscepti- 
ble of corruption, and freezes more easily than before. 

Behold the fruit of past retreats ! A little spell of de- 
votion seized upon us, a spark of fervor heated us a little, 
a slight movement of zeal filled us with holy ardor, — but, 
for how long? Perhaps, for a day or two. Soon we 
returned to our first state ; our fervor cooled, and our zeal 
lessened. We became more relaxed in our exercises, more 
negligent in our duties, colder towards God, more slaves 
of our passions and senses ; in a word, we belonged less 
to God than before. This will again happen after this 
retreat, if we are not upon our guard. Let us, then, con- 
tinually watch over ourselves, fear our weakness, and be 
faithful to God in all things. 

Such, O Lord, is indeed the true portrait of my life. The 
more I advance in my career, the less I advance in the 
road of virtue ; the older I grow in religion, the more fixed 
I become in my bad habits. I profit by nothing. I correct 
nothing. I am an unfaithful, ungrateful, and miserable 
creature, unworthy of Thy graces. Afttr the many re- 
treats that I have made, after so man}' promises and resolu- 
tions, I am still as tepid, as imperfect as before. What 
can I expect, O Lord, after so many graces despised, so 
many mercies abused, but a judgment without mercy? 
Ah ! Lord, do not yet exercise it against me, I beseech 
Thee. I hope, with the assistance of Thy grace, to be 
more faithful than I have ever been. I wish this retreat 
to work in me what I have so long proposed to myself and 
what I promise Thee, — a true change. I resolve rather 
to die than to fail in the promise I now make to lead 
a new life. Yes, O my God, there is no sin that I will not, 
hereafter, try to avoid ; no passion that I will not make 



OK A VOIDING RELAPSES. 34l 

every effort to repress ; no bad habits that I will not 
destroy ; no inclinations, no natural propensity, against 
which I will not fight ; no creatures, from whom I will not 
detach myself ; nothing, in fine, that I will not do to live 
and die in the faithful observance of my Rules and Con- 
stitutions. 

O ! Jesus, only Object of my love, I desire to enter 
into the dispositions of Thy Blessed Mother during the 
years she lived in the Temple, wholly consecrated to Thy 
love and service. I offer Thee her heart, her adoration 
and love. Accept mine with hers, and deign, O divine 
Jesus, to consign me, Thyself, to her care, to place me in 
her hands, that she may teach me to live to Thee alone, to 
become the humble, faithful child of Thy own most Sacred 
Heart. Amen. 



ADV1CJE 



ON 



RETREATS, 



SAINT JANE FRANCES DE CRANTAL. 



EETEEAT 



SAINT JANE FRANCES DE CRANTAL. 



LETTER OF OUR HOLY FOUNDRESS. 345 



VIVE JESUS! 

LETTER OF OUR HOLY FOUNDRESS, ST. JANE FRANCES 
FREMYOT DE CHANTAL. 

Written by our dear and good Mother de Chantal, and 
very instructive and useful for Retreats. 

My dearest Daughter : 

It is your wish that I should tell you what j^ou are to 
do iu your retreat. Alas ! nry daughter, you know that I 
am not capable of telling you much on that subject. Still 
to satisfy your good heart, and to condescend to your 
humility, I will tell you, that the firstday of our retreat we 
must not at once set about making our connfession, but 
must employ our time in recollecting and calming our soul 
before God, that like a tranquil lake under the bright sun, 
we may see clearly to the bottom. The following day, we 
must make our general examination, very quietly, without 
hurry, effort, or curiosity. I do not like much our getting 
accustomed to write at full length our annual confession, 
though, they who could not do otherwise are free to do so. 
Then, as the first three or four days are to be given to the 
purgative life, you may take the first or last meditations 
from Philothea, or some other in conformity with those. 
The following days, we must quietly reflect on what our 
sweet Saviour has done for love of us, and on what He 
does to redeem us. The last days, you can take some book 
which treats of the infinite love and eternal riches of this 
great God. Towards the end of the retreat, we must de- 
spoil our heart of all that clothes it, placing its garments, 
one after the other, at the feet of our Lord, beseeching Him 
to keep them, and clothe us with Himself. Thus stripped 
and despoiled before this divine Goodness, we must once 
more cast ourselves into the arms of His Providence, 
leaving to Him the care and government of our whole 
being ; and believe me, my daughter, nothing will be 
wanting to us. Let us never burden or clothe ourselves 
with any care, desire, affection, or constraint, for since 
we have abandoned all to our Lord, let us leave Him to 



348 LETTER OF OUR HOLt FOUNDRESS. 

govern, and think solely how to please Him, whether by 
suffering or acting. 

As regards gaining the indulgence granted to religious 
souls who make the retreat, you are not to have any fear 
that you are not gaining it because you cannot meditate 
in detail, nor discourse with your understanding at the 
time of prayer, God giving you, with His goodness, an 
occupation more simple and intimate. But this is what you 
are to do, my daughter ; you are to read very attentively 
the points you would meditate upon if you were at liberty 
to do so, and as you read them recollect your soul devoutly 
in God. Thus, this reading will be to you instead of medi- 
tation ; and by reading in this way, your mind will always 
receive good impressions from what you read, and though 
the profit be unknown 1 to you, it is none the less for all 
that. Having done your duty by this reading, and 
continuing afterwards in prayer in your simple and loving 
manner, I tell you, that you do more than enough for the 
meditation ; and for this reason, because God, infinite in 
greatness, comprehends all mysteries, and possessing God, 
you are excellently in the mystery which you had proposed 
to yourself for your meditation. A father of a religious 
Order, very spiritual, learned, and virtuous, has recently 
reconfirmed me in this opinion. 

Indeed, my dearest daughter, this exercise of our annual 
retreats is a most important one. We must try to make them 
with the greatest possible devotion and fidelity. I think 
it will be very useful to your daughters, if you have read at 
table the book of " Exercises of Father Dom Sens of St. 
Catherine ;" for, as his Lordship (that is our blessed Father, 
who was then alive), said to me, it is ample matter and 
written in a moving style, but a style of the saints, re- 
jecting immortification, and detesting the researches of 
self-love. For meditation, your daughters must be given 
points that are pithy, unctuous, solid, and that stir the 
affections. 

I am in divine love, my dearest daughter, your very 
humble and unworthy sister and servant in our Lord, 
Sister Jane Frances Fremyot, 

Of the Visitation of Holy Mary. 

Blessed be God. 



ON THE MEDITATIONS OF RETREAT. 347 

ADVICE. 



OUR HOLY FOUNDRESS, ST. JANE FRANCES FREMYOT, 
TO OUR SISTERS OF THE VISITATION. 

On the Subject of the Meditations of Retreat. 

My dearest Sisters : 

We send you cordially this manuscript, because it is 
taken from the works of our Blessed Father, but espe- 
cially from several little notes which we have found 
written by his dear and saintly hand. The ideas and 
words are his, and you will easily recognize his spirit in 
them. We have tried to reduce and arrange the whole in 
the form of Meditations, which may serve for the time of 
the retreats which are made before the renovation of 
vows, because several of our Sisters, the Superiors, had 
long been asking me to prepare some for them. I think 
that after the Meditations of the first and second part of 
Philothea, you will find nothing more solid or more useful 
for you. If you read and maturely consider them, they 
will fill your understanding with much light and necessary 
knowledge, and your hearts with holy affections. 

The Meditations on silence, on modesty, and on some 
other religious virtues are wanting, because the subjects 
of them have not been found in the little memoranda of 
our Blessed Father. You may take them from the " Ex- 
ercises of the Rev. Father Dom Sens," which our 
Blessed Father highly valued, or from other sources. 
Believe, my dear sisters, that we very heartily make you 
partakers of all that we have of our holy Founder's, since 
we are very desirious that you should live on and feed 
3 T our souls on his holy and sweet doctrine ; God give us 
the grace to do so. Pray His Goodness for your unworthy 
Sister and servant in our Lord, 

Sister Jane Frances Fremyot. 

Blessed be God! Amen. 



348 A PREFACE. 

LIVE JESUS! 

A PREFACE. 

It has always been a custom among the children of 
God, who know the frailty and weakness of our nature, 
to renew their good pm poses and holy resolutions. The 
Israelites, God's people, made their renewals at each new 
moon. To summon each one to do it, they blew the 
trumpet, and made a solemn feast to rouse the mind and 
raise it to the things of eternity. 

Holy Church offers, from time to time, great festivals 
and solemnities to her children, that they may be renewed 
in the desire and purpose to do better. Religious of 
olden times used to take for this purpose the day of their 
profession and entrance into religion. But, inasmuch as 
the Daughters of the Visitation are not to become at- 
tached to particularities, the day of the Presentation, 
was most suitably chosen, that all of them together should 
come to offer their vows of renewal with the Blessed 
Virgin, who offers herself to God on this day. And in 
this, we verify what the prophet David had said, that 
many virgins should be brought to God, following after 
the most holy Virgin, to be offered to His divine Majesty. 
To the end that this may be done with more hnmility, 
it is very reasonable that we should prepare ourselves for 
it by solitude and a retreat of some days ; for what, I 
pray you, are we going to do in our retreat, if not to 
renew our vows, revivify our soul, and confirm our 
resolutions ? 

As a man, who plays the lute with perfection, is wont 
to try all the strings, from time to time, to see if they do 
not require to be tightened or loosened, to render them in 
good tune according to the tone he wishes to give them ; 
so we, also, every year in our retreat, should feel and con- 
sider all the affections of our soul, to see if they are in 
tune, to intone the canticle of the glory of God and of our 
own perfection. With this intent we make the yearly 
confessions, whereby we come to know all the strings that 
are discordant, the dispositions that are not yet mortified, 



A PREFACE. 349 

• the resolutions that have not been faithfully practised : and 
having thus tightened the strings of our spiritual lute, we 
begin anew to sing the canticle of Divine Love, which 
consists in true observance ; and following our glorious 
Mistress, we come under her protection to offer ourselves 
on the altar of the divine Goodness, that we may be con- 
sumed without any reserve by the fire of His ardent 
charity. 

To these holy words of our holy founder it has been 
thought good to add a counsel of a certain worthy servant 
of God, who, speaking of the profit we ought to draw 
from our retreat, says, that they, who love much talking 
generally come from their retreat lovers of silence and 
solitude ; they who were indifferent and indevoul in the 
exercises of religion, come from it fervent, diligent, and 
prompt at their duty ; they who were lovers of their con- 
venience are henceforth enemies of corrupt nature and 
great lovers of mortification, without which the spiritual 
life cannot subsist. If you have made a good retreat, you 
will have learned in it how to converse with God in reve- 
rence, humility, union, and love ; and by continual attention 
to His presence, to converse with yourself in purity of 
heart, in solitude, in peace, in true love of your spiritual 
good and hatred of yourself ; to converse with your sisters 
in charity, forbearance, and edification ; and with strangers, 
when it shall be required, in all modesty and devotion, 
showing them that you breathe only God ; in a word you 
will have learned to converse with your guardian angel and 
the saints, paying them visits and bringing them often to 
your mind. God give us this grace ! Amen. 

In this first Monastery of the Visitation of holy Mary 
of Annecy, this loth of August, 1637. Commenced under 
the protection of the triumphant Mother of God. 

Blessed be God. 



VIVE JESUS! 



MEDITATIONS, 



DRAWN FROM THE 



WRITINGS OF OUR BLESSED FATHER, 



Suitable for Retreats, 



ON CREATION. 853 

MEDITATION I. 

ON CREATION. 

First Point. 

Whence are we? The country from which we came 
forth is nothingness. Where wast thou, my soul, so 
many years ago? Thou wast nothing, oh ! nothing, with- 
out subsistence, or any being at all ! Oh, nothingness ! 
thou ait my native country, wherein I dwelt unknown, vile 
and ever abject. "I have said to rottenness, thou art my 
father," said Job ; but 1 have said to nothingness: thou 
art my country, I am taken from thy dark abyss and from 
thy frightful cavern. 

Second Point. 

Who has drawn us from nothingness? Who has given 
us being? Who is our Father? As the trees in winter 
contain their blossoms and fruits enclosed within them- 
selves, still in their season they push them forth and make 
them appear : so God has had an eternal will to produce 
thee, oh my soul ! and has held thee in His conception all 
ready to bring thee forth when the time should come ! 
Oh ! art thou not happy in being the daughter of so good 
a father ? 

Third Point. 

When I was nothing, and sunk in the abyss of nothing- 
ness, the will of God was secretly preparing in His decree 
my being to give it me in time and place, as He has done. 
From nothingness proceeds our old animal man which is 
in us, and which is ever tending to its origin, to nothing- 
ness, to sin, and to evil. From God, proceeds our new 
Adam, the spiritual man which is in us, and is ever tend- 
ing to its origin, to good, to virtue, and to the enjoyment 
of God. 

First Affection. 

Of myself then, what am I, but a mere nothing and 
child of nothingness? Poor and wretched as I am, in 
23 



354 ON THE END FOB WHICH WE ABE GBEATED. 

what do I glory ? wherefore do I esteem myself as some- 
thing? Oh, nothingness! I will ever remember thee, 
will never exalt myself, but will abase my soul, bringing 
ever before its eyes its obscure and mean origin. Alas ! 
it is hardly out of its shell, and it boasts of being great 
and magnificent. 

Second Affection. 

Oh God ! what is my duty to Thy will which has so long 
and from eternity planned me in the designs of Thy 
Providence? O holy Will ! I am Thine ; do with me, in 
me, and by me whatever it shall please Thee, for I am 
Thy work. What rashness to have been a rebel against 
Thy Will which has produced me, and which alone pre- 
serves me. 

Third Affection. 

Ah ! the heart of man ! though high amid the low things 
of nature, is nevertheless, at the first look it casts upon 
God, led by its natural inclination to recognise its centre. 
Come, then, my poor heart, issue as a spark from the ashes 
of thy lowness, to render the love and obedience due to 
thy first beginning. 



MEDITATION II. 

ON THE END FOR WHICH WE ARE CREATED. 

First Point. 

Consider that God has made us to His image and like- 
ness, and He has created us thus that we may love 
Him. It is so true that' our heart is created to love 
God, that as soon as it attentively thinks a little en 
the God-head, it feels a certain sweet emotion, which testi- 
fies that God is the God of our heart. 

Second Point. 

Consider that if God had not created man, He would, 
in truth, have been all good, but He would not have been 



ON THE END FOB WHICH WE ARE CREATED. 355 

actually merciful, inasmuch as mercy is only exercised 
towards the miserable. Oil ! sweet consolation ! the sun 
is created to give light, the fire to burn, and so of other 
creatures. But thou, O my soul ! poor and mean, thou art 
created in order that thou mayest be the theatre of the 
divine mercy ! 

Third Point. 

Consider again, that you are created to go on your way 
continually to God. The rivers flow without ceasing, and, 
as says the wise man, return to the place whence the} 7 
came forth. " O God," says St. Augustine, '* Thou hast 
created my heart for Thyself, and never will it be at rest 
but in Thee ; yes, Lord, for Thou art the God of my heart, 
my lot, and my portion. 

First Affection. 

Give thanks, O my soul ! to this divine Master and 
Author of nature, Who gives thee daily as much assist- 
ance as is necessary for thee to go on thy way to the end 
for which He has created thee, that is to love Him. Cry 
out, then : Ah ! I am not made for this world ; there is a 
sovereign Workman, Who has made me for Himself. I 
must, therefore, tend towards Him, to be united and 
joined to His goodness whereto I belong. 

Second Affection. 

Oh ! how sweet and desirable is the meeting of the riches 
of my God with my poverty ! Ah ! how happy am I to 
be placed in the world for so excellent an end, as to bring 
into fuller light the excess of a goodness so supremely 
charitable ! 

Third Affection. 

Oh ! all you who are on earth, you are pilgrims and are 
created to say with St. Augustine : " O to desire, to love, 
to walk, to attain to God !" Come, then, let us aim at our 
abiding city, the place of our rest. Our hearts should be 
as the sons of Jonadab who dared not build themselves 
houses on this earth. O religious soul ! shake off all this 



356 ON BENEFITS. 

dust of earth from thy feet, for the ground on which thou 
walkest is holy, and the place which thou wishest to reach 
is all sanctified. 



MEDITATION III. 

ON BENEFITS. 

First Point. 

Consider that God has made us as the perfection and 
abridgment of the universe. He has made our soul a 
storehouse of His riches, which made David say: "The 
marvels of the knowledge of God are seen in me." 

Second Point. 

Consider that God has been so liberal towards you, 
that He has made all this world for you. See my soul, 
heaven, earth, and every created thing ; all has been made 
for thee, part for thy necessities, part for thy comfort and 
recreation. But how must thou use it? As Our Lord 
and the saints have done, soberly, holily, and devoutly. 
How have I used it? Superfluously, in a worldly, in a pro- 
fane way : I have referred everything to myself, dwelling 
only in the pleasure I received, being like that bad mer- 
chant, to whom all was entrusted, and who made a bad 
use of all. 

Third Point. 

See, my soul, the multitude of benefits that God has 
distributed to thee : thou didst not die in thy mother's 
womb ; thou hast been baptized, brought up in the Church, 
withdrawn from the company of worldlings, instructed in 
the way of the Spirit, inspired with a thousand inspirations, 
enlightened by a thousand lights, urged to a thousand good 
resolutions. What thanks oughtest thou to render for the 
same ! But, O God ! with how little fidelity has all that 
been husbanded ! Alas ! my soul ! like a prodigal son, thou 
hast misused the goods and the goodness of thy Father. 
Still, return to Thy Father, for He is good and will receive 
thee. 



ON BENEFITS. 357 



First Affection. 

O Lord ! with what great gifts has thy liberal hand 
enriched this fair soul ! Ah ! is it not happy in having 
faith in our Saviour, hope through Him, affection and 
desire of obeying His divine will ? O sovereign Giver ! to 
fill up Thy benefits, grant this one more to my soul, that 
I ma}' never abuse Thy divine gifts ; make sure my faith, 
confirm my hope, increase my desire, warm my affections, 
so that I may become worthy of the surpassing benefit of 
the reception of Thy holy Body. 

Second Affection. 

Alas ! how ungrateful have I been towards so kind and 
liberal a Lord, since I know that not only has He made 
for me all that I see, taste and feel, but His liberality 
passes still further, for eye has not seen, nor ear heard, 
the great and good things He reserves for me, if I am a 
loyal servant. Ah ! my King ! every moment I receive 
the effects of Thy liberality, and I scarcely say to Thea 
one word of thanksgiving ; and, notwithstanding, as no 
moment passes that I enjoy not Thy benefits, none ought 
to slip by without my sending Thee acts of thanksgiving. 
My soul, how shall we practice this? unless by using this 
world well and religiously, as if we use it not, that all our 
life may be an act of thanksgiving ; and to that end, we 
must be attached to the Giver and not to His gifts. 

Third Affection. 

Alas! my Benefactor! David said: "What shall I 
render to the Lord for all the things He hath rendered to 
me?" Ah! ought not the religious soul find still greater 
difficulty in making her acknowledgments to Thee ! O 
God of all goodness, it is a small matter if I make Thee a 
holocaust of myself ; still, if it please Thee to ask for my 
heart, here, Lord, I give it Thee, and may it never return 
into my possession. 



358 on stir. 

MEDITATION IV. 

ON SIN. 

First Point. 

We are not afraid of sin, because we do not consider 
enough the evil thereof ; for sin is an aversion, or turning 
aside from God, and a turning to the creature, and it is 
in this separation from God that the principal evil of sin 
consists. Alas ! consider how many times you have sepa- 
rated yourself from this good God. Ah ! my soul, you 
should say, is it possible that thou takest pleasure in 
turning away from the source of all good, to go into the 
abyss of sin? 

Second Point. 

Consider that there are many woeful steps by which the 
soul goes down to perdition ; ingratitude, attention to 
human things in place of divine things, the habit of 
frivolous and superfluous thoughts, the unhappy custom 
of speaking ill of our neighbor. Moreover, by speaking 
of the ill deeds of others, we lose the shame of our own. 
From this we descend to the next step, which is to forget 
to have recourse to God by prayer, and at last, we are 
precipitated into such misfortune, that without remorse 
we drink iniquity like water. O soul, designed for eterns.1 
happiness, I show thee this woeful descent, that thou 
mayest withdraw thy feet from these evil steps ! 

Third Point. 

Consider that those are lost with Cain, who will not 
make a good confession, or who make it from habit, without 
true remorse for their sins and without a firm purpose to 
amend. Those, who make a good Confession are saved 
with the good thief, and with Job, who declared that he 
would not keep his sin in his bosom, but accused himself 
of his faults. Alas ! we sin in body and soul by innume- 
rable ways of omission, of commission, and inadvertence ; 



on sm. 359 

and they deceive themselves, who, because they are in relig- 
ion and free from grievous sins, which are more visible, 
esteem their faults small, and fail to have sorrow for 
them. For, however small our sins, this is great ingratitude 
towards God, and He alone knows the gravity of our sins 
atid not we. 

First Affection, 

Come, my soul, let us draw nigh to God. He receives 
sinners ; let us not leave our Jesus any more. Hear Him 
calling : " Return, return, wandering children, who desert 
your Father." Ah ! Lord, behold I come to Thee because 
Thou hast called me ; receive me, according to Thy word, 
and I shall live ! No, Lord, no, by the help of Thy grace, 
I will never separate myself from Thee ! Alas ! I have 
done so but too often, and I repent thereof with all my 
heart ! 

Second Affection. 

O God, full of clemency ! Thy mercy is greater than 
my iniquity ! If Thou didst chastise me according to Thy 
justice, what would become of me? for I see that there is 
not one of these evil steps on which I have not placed my 
foot. Therefore, O my Father, I have sinned against 
heaven, and before Thee, and am not worthy to be called 
Thy child ; nevertheless, I still aspire to this happiness. 

Third Affection. 

Ah ! Lord, henceforth, with Thy grace, I will accuse 
myself of my sins with great sorrow, never esteeming a 
fault small, since it is the great God Whom my sins defy. 
Ah! Lord, Thou waitest for the conversion of the sinner, 
but Thou wilt not always be silent if he does not amend. 
Thou must then, my wretched heart, melt in holy contrition 
and penitence, from the sole consideration of the infinite 
goodness of God, Whom Thou hast offended, and be filled 
with a lively resolution of dying rather than sinning wil- 
fully. O Lord, Who seest the weakness of my heart, 
strengthen me by Thy help, that this resolution may be 
efficacious. 



360 ON DEATB. 

MEDITATION V. 

ON DEATH. 

First Point. 

Consider, O mortals, that it is a great reproach to die 
without having thought of it. Death, which has dominion 
over this perishable life, keeps no ordinary rule. It takes 
now here, now there, without choice or method, the good 
among the wicked, the young among the old. Oh ! happy 
are they who live in continual fear of dying, and who are 
ever ieacly to die, so that they may live again forever 
in the life where there is no death ! 

Second Point. 

Consider that God having placed us in the house of 
this world, on some day that He knows and that we know 
not, will call us before Him with this summons: " Come 
and give an account of thy stewardship, of thy Vows, of thy 
Rule and observances ; in short, of all the goods over 
which I have set thee." Alas ! what will be the issue of 
this account? I know not, for all things will remain un- 
certain till the time to come. 

TJiird Point. 

Consider that the just man dies not unexpectedly ; for, 
to have persevered in Christian justice and in religious 
observance to the end is to have well provided for his 
death. Therefore, the Church bids us ask not merely that 
we may not die a sudden death, but an unprovided death. 

First Affection. 

Were the religious state to bring no other good than 
that of a perpetual preparation for death, it should be 
held in great respect. Ah ! my soul, death teaches us, every 
day, that the greatness of the world is nothing but an 



by death. 361 

illusion and a lie, and that the life of man fleets away like 
a passing puff of wind. Come, then, let us throw ourselves 
at the feet of the immortal King, Whose death is more 
worthy of love than the life of all the kings of earth. 
Ah, sweet Jesus ! give me the good remembrance of death 
which destroys sin, which humbles me when I think of my 
dust, and makes me despise all things that perish. 

Second Affection. 

O my Blessed Father ! ah ! you died no unprovided 
death, you, who were so deeply attentive, and on the watch 
to hear the signal for departure, and who used to say : "I 
am thinking of my equipment for the great eternal 
journey." Ah ! how attentive I ought to be to this prac- 
tice which you have appointed for us, of sighing over the 
hours passed uselessly, since we shall have to give account 
of them all, at the day of death. Take care, O my 
soul ! how thou observest all that belongs to thy Institute ; 
for I warn thee that account must be given of all to our 
great Judge. O Jesus ! remember that Thou art at the 
same time, both my Judge, my Father, a*id nry Saviour. 

Third Affection. 

Alas ! when I think how I have employed God's time, 
I am greatly troubled that He will not give me His eternit}', 
since He only gives it to those who will employ their time, 
said our holy founder. If this faithful servant said that 
of himself, what must I say of myself, unjust steward? O 
my sweet Jesus ! bowed down before Thee, I entreat 
Thee not to enter into strict account with Thy servant, 
for who could endure Thy wrath? But rather give me this 
grace, that in imitation of my Blessed Father, I may take 
care to serve Thee well, so as to be able to leave and 
abandon to Thee all care of my death. 



362 ON JUDGMENT. 

MEDITATION VI. 

ON JUDGMENT. 

First Point. 

Consider, my soul, that thou art indeed insensible, if 
thou tremblest not at the remembrance of this last clay, 
whereon a consuming fire will come before the presence 
of the Judge ; thunders and tempests will roar round about 
Him, the waves will be lifted up and will cast forth flames, 
the monsters of the deep and the beasts of the earth will 
howl lamentably and horribly, and when the Judge shall 
come, He will shake the heavens, the stars will fall at 
His feet, the moon will become like blood, the sun will 
become dark, black, and give no light. O God ! what con- 
vulsion in nature ! but it is God's doing, for the universe 
is so noble that no one can destroy it but its creator. 

Second Point. 

Consider that Jesus being seated on the judgment seat, 
and all nations before Him, He will separate, as shepherds 
do, the goats from the sheep, and will imprint in a won- 
drous manner on the spirits of the dan:ned a fearful 
sense of their loss ; for the divine Majesty will make 
them see clearly the beauty of His face, and the treasures 
of His bounty. When they see this infinite abyss of de- 
lights, their will, by an extreme effort, will wish to spring 
towards Him to be united to Him and enjoy His love ; but 
to no purpose, for as soon as the divine beauty shall have 
penetrated the understanding of these unhappy beings, 
the divine justice will so deprive their will of strength, 
that it will be utterly unable to love this lovable object, 
and they will hear this frightful sentence : " Depart from 
Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire." 



ON JUDGMENT. 363 



Third Point. 

And the Judge, turning towards His dear sheep, shall say 
to them: " Come ye blessed of my Father, possess the 
kingdom prepared for you." Then shall the force of the 
command to love cease and give place to the force of 
pleasure, and then shall we see that the commandment of 
love given by our king Jesus to the citizens of the mili- 
tant Jerusalem, has only been to merit for them citizen- 
ship in the triumphant Jerusalem. 



First Affection. 

O sovereign Judge ! when all human nature will have 
gone forth into eternity, Thou wilt break the shell of this 
visible world ; I adore Thy power, but I invoke Thy 
mercy ; for, in this day of Thine auger, if the pillars of 
heaven tremble with fear, what shall it be in my heart 
which, as a little straw, is agitated by every wind? Alas, 
O God ! Thou wilt render to each according to His 
works ; I must not, therefore, be auxious about anything 
but to do good works for this will be the day of Thy 
general remuneration. Yes, even % the earth, O my God! 
which has borne Thine elect shall be changed in form and 
made brighter than a mirror ; the sun shall have seven 
times more brightness than it now has, and the moon 
shall be bright as the sun ; ah ! how delightful will it be to 
see our king Jesus in the day of His majesty. 

Second Affection. 

What do I say? In that day, alas ! what will it profit 
the wicked to see Him if they cannot love Him? Ah! 
Lord, deliver me from this eternal sadness and from the 
immortal despair of those who shall find themselves in an 
impossibility, and even in a dreadful aversion to love such 
loving goodness. 

My soul, it is now for thee to judge, condemn, and cor- 



364 Off HELL. 

recfc thyself, and give thyself up to the solid virtues of 
thy vocation, for even though in that day of terror thou 
wert to say : " Lord, I have raised the dead and worked 
miracles in Thy name," thou shouldst still hear these 
fearful words : Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity, 
I know you not, for you have not observed your Vows and 
Rules." 

Third Affection. 

O saintly and blessed company, be ye for ever blessed. 
Ah ! you are blessed beoause you have been simple and 
obedient as sheep ; make me, O sweet Jesus, my good 
Master, bless Thee by my good works throughout this 
life, that Thou mayest bless me throughout Thy eternity, 
and give Thy right band to the work of Thy hands. 



MEDITATION VII. 

ON HELL. 

First Point. 

Consider that after the judgment the reprobate spirits, 
with their bodies, the accomplices of their crimes and com- 
panions of their pains, will enter forever into their terrible 
abode, and will dwell for eternity in this place of darkness 
and horror, where there is no order, but frightful conf usiou. 

Second Point. 

These unhappy beings will dwell in their infernal prison, 
full of desparing rage at knowing such supreme loving 
perfection, and never being able to have the love and en- 
joyment thereof, because while they could have loved and 
served it, they have not been willing, and this teaches me 
that I must work while I have the light. 



ON HELL. 865 



Third Point. 



Consider, that among all the woes of these wretches, is 
this one, that they will bum with a thirst the more violent, 
as the remembrance of the beauteous eternal source will 
sharpen their ardor and they will be forever like mad dogs 
perishing with hunger the more vehement as their memory 
will increase its insatiable cruelty by the remembrance of 
the eternal banquet whereof they are deprived, and cursing 
one another, they will, in turn, curse their Creator, seeing 
that forever and always, they will be miserable in eternity. 



First Affection. 

O God ! when I see Adam and Eve come forth from the 
earthly Paradise, after having been filled with so many 
graces, laden with their siu, so full of misery that we may 
say: u Who are these that are leaving Paradise, thus 
abounding in calamities? I am all astonished; :but, O 
Saviour of the world ! I am far more so, when I see a 
soul brought up in the Paradise of the Church, enriched 
with her treasures, capable of eternal felicity, descend by 
her fault into eternal misery ! Oh ! God, my God ! I say, 
she might have been Thy Spouse, and behold she is Thy 
enemy ; she might have enjoyed the triumphant Church, 
and behold she is a citizen of the infernal Babylon. Oh 
sin, oh self-will ! it is you who led this miserable soul into 
this disaster, you, therefore, I detest with all my strength. 

Second Affection. 

O, religious souls ! make haste to serve God, and to 
enter on the narrow wa}' of your observances, for it leads 
to life ! O ! my sweet Jesus, turn away my steps from 
that broad and wide, sensual, self-willed and idle road 
that leads to eternal death, and into which so many enter • 
Keep me also from following that double and crooked way, 
which leads hypocrites to destruction. 



3bG ON PARADISE. 



Third Affection. 

O religions souls ! you have so many means of be- 
coming perfect, you are on the mystical ladder whose top 
is in heaven. Ah ! if by your disorders you cast yourselves 
into the eternal abyss, how deeply will you be fixed therein ; 
even in the lowest depths, says a contemplative saint. O 
most holy Virgin ! do not permit that any of the sheep of 
your flock should ever be cast among the goats and wolves 
of hell. 

Ah ! Mother of all sweetness, I fly from hell, because 
neither your Son nor you are loved there ; for the blessed 
would esteem themselves damned if they were deprived a 
moment of this love. O Mother of holy love ! make me 
so begin to love, that I may love eternally your most 
holy Son. 



MEDITATION VIII. 

ON PARADISE. 

First Point. 

Consider, that God, being more inclined to reward 
than to punish, will give an infinite glory to His blessed 
whom He will place in His triumphant kingdom. Oh! 
how delightful is this place ; it is a place full of ornament, 
of splendor, and of glory ! "O City of God ! holy Jeru- 
salem," says St. Augustine, " how happy were my soul 
did she deserve to behold thy glory, thy beauty, thy gates, 
thy walls, thy streets. Thy houses are of precious stones, 
thy gates of fine pearls, thy streets of purest gold ; into 
thee nothing enters that is not clean ; in a word, holy 
Jerusalem, thou art beautiful and sweet with delights." 



ON PARADISE. 367 

Second Point. 

Consider that it is good to see this city, where the great 
King is seated in His majesty, surrounded by all His 
blessecl servants. There are the bands of angels who sing 
hymns, and the company of the heavenly citizens ; there 
are the venerable band of the prophets, the sacred num- 
ber of the apostles, the victorious army of the innumer- 
able martyrs, the august rank of the pontiffs, the sacred 
choir of the confessors, the true and perfect religious, the 
saintly women, the humble widows, the pure virgins ! 
The glory of each is not equal, but still they all receive 
one same pleasure, for full and perfect charity reigns 
there. 

Third Point. 

Consider that, for eternity, these happy souls are in 
the enjoyment of this bliss which consists in this, that 
God gives Himself wholly to each. The eternal Son 
says graciously to His Father: "Father, I will that 
where I am, they also whom Thou hast given Me may be 
with Me : that they may see My gloiy which Thou hast 

given Me, before the creation of the world." 

And turning to His dear children, He says: "Did I not 
tell you, that whosoever should love Me, should be loved 
by My Father, and that We would manifest Ourselves to 
him?" Then this holy company, overwhelmed with plea- 
sure in the bosom of the Godhead, chants the eternal 
Alleluia of rejoicing and of praise to their Creator. 

First Affection . 

I hail thee from afar, O my most holy mother, Jerusa- 
lem, full of all beauty, enlightened by the Sun of Justice, 
and of whom the white and spotless Lamb is the beau- 
teous and resplendent light, thy glory and all thy good ! 
O God of life ! how desirable are Thy palaces ; here is 
the place where Thou scatterest all Thy delights ! Ah ! 
poor moment of this life, I cannot love thee except so far 
as thou mayest help me to journey to this holy eternity ! 
Ah ! how wearisome is earth, how displeasing its pleasures 
when I turn my eyes to thee, O my lovely Sion? 



368 ON RELIGIOUS POVERTY. 

Second Affection. 

Blessed courtiers of this great King, now, indeed, you 
experience in the joy of your Lord, that he, who is faith- 
ful in little is set over much ! Ah ! auswer me, b$ what 
road did you reach this happy abode ? By patience, by 
faith, by hope, meekness, and by charity and humility. I 
am here below, that I may mount by the same steps of 
holy virtues ; extend to me your helping hands, lest my 
weakness make me rather stumble below, than mount to 
your desirable and beauteous company. 

Third Affection. 

Courage, my soul, let us labor and fight ! this fair 
kingdom is only given to conquerors. But, my God, Thou 
art my beatitude ! Thee, then, I will seek, the God of 
paradise, and not the paradise of God ! Ah ! what grace 
to see forever the Spouse in His noonday, the Lord face 
to face, to love Him and bless Him forever ! 



MEDITATION IX. 

ON RELIGIOUS POVERTY. 

First Point. 

" Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom 
of heaven ! " Cursed, then, are the rich in spirit, who love 
the things of earth ; for the misery of hell is for them. 
You have taken a vow of poverty ; oh, happy, then, are 
you if you observe it, and how you ought to think your- 
self honored to be in such holy company ! Our Lord, our 
Lady, Saint Joseph, were poor; love, then, this holy 
virtue, as the dear friend of Jesus Christ, Who lived and 
died in poverty. 

Second Point. 

Consider that the meaning of poverty is the having 
need of and being in want of many things. See the ex- 



ON REL IGIO US PO VER TY. 36 'J 

ample of the poor and divine Jesus. " The foxes," said 
He, " have holes, and the birds of the air nests ; but the 
Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." Oh, re- 
ligious ! who have vowed to be poor with Jesus Christ, 
do you not blush for shame, when you wish to have your 
conveniences at the appointed time, and to want for 
nothing, you, who ought to desire and be glad, if you 
had not even necessary things, who ought, I say, to rejoice 
exceedingly, if, with your Spouse, you had not where to 
lay your head ! 

Third Point. 

Weigh seriously, the obligation of your vow. You are to 
live, not only in a perfect abnegation of the things you 
shall use, but, also, in a poverty entirely stripped of all 
things according to your holy Constitutions. You are 
to remark that the religious, who wishes to be attached 
to time, to place, to creatures, esteem, and consolations, 
mistakes her true nature and is not poor, for she makes 
her riches of all these things, and, therefore, is not in the 
nakedness of heart and poverty of spirit which she pro- 
fesses. 

First Affection . 

I give Thee thanks, Lord, that Thy bounty has placed 
me here, where, among Thy spouses, the words mine 
and thine are not heard except on this one subject, where 
it was permitted to the lover to say : " My beloved is all 
mine." Ah ! Lord ! give me a true love of this beloved 
poverty with all its inconveniences, keep me from that 
ambition, which is but too prevalent, of desiring the honor 
of being accounted poor, and of possessing at the same time 
all the conveniences of riches. 

Second Affection. 

O my God, I ought to humble myself profoundly, in 
seeing Thee, King of all things, not having even where to 
lay Thy head, and I, poor worm of earth, so well provided 
for in all my necessities. My ingratitude has reached 
that point, that I wish to have in the monastery, in the holy 
24 



370 ON OBEDIENCE. 

house of the poor, the superfluities, and all the conveniences 
of worldlings, which I should not have had even in 
the world. O Lord ! Who, for love of me didst embrace 
poverty, I throw myself at Thy feet to repent of this 
disorder. 

Yes, Lord, I will observe my vow with all fidelity. I 
will cherish aud conceal between Thee and me the little 
privations that shall come upon me. I will love vile and 
coarse things, as being those which really belong to me ; 
in a word, I ask of Thee this grace, that all the days of 
my life I may be like a poor person, in my office, at 
work, in food, in dress, in sickness, in health, in all. 

Third Affection. 

God of all goodness, Who hast said of old: "I will 
not that they, who serve Me in My temple, should have 
any inheritance, for I will be their portion." Ah! my 
Lord ! whence comes it that so many souls in religion 
possess Thee not, unless because they wish to possess 
something else? Come, then, my soul, let us divest our- 
selves of all ! Depart from me goods and conveniences of 
the body, depart vain consolations ; begone from my 
heart superfluous affections, for, henceforth, I will render 
my vows to my God, Who is my lot, my portion, and my 
eternal possession, of which I enjoy so much the less, the 
more I wish to enjoy other things ! 



MEDITATION X. 

ON OBEDIENCE. 

First Point. 

Consider what is the religious obedience which you 
have vowed. It is a complete resignation of all human 
will, says St. Climacus, a voluntary death, a life without 
curiosity, a sure way that seeks no excuse before God, a 
voyage, the tomb of our own will, and an awakening of 



ON OBEDIENCE. 371 

humility. Alas ! see how badly you have observed so 
worthy a virtue ; if you do uot practice it aright, you 
expose your soul to all the evils contrary to the above virtues. 

Second Point. 

To excite yourself more to the practice of this virtue, 
consider the meek Jesus in the house of St. Joseph, retired, 
apart from the world, and being in all things obedient. 
It was there that He began the monastic life ; but, my 
God! wherein did He obey? In things low and vile, in 
helping to handle a saw, or a plane, He, the God of all 
majesty and all glory ; and we, creatures full of all mean- 
ness and abjection, scarcely embrace with joy an obedi- 
ence, if cur own glory and satisfaction are not attached 
thereto. 

Third Point. 

Reflect on these holy words of our Saviour: "I came 
down from heaven, not do My own will, but the will of 
Him that sent me," and say : "O my God! I am not come 
into this holy monastery to do my own will, but that of 
ray Father in heaven, Who has sent me hither by His 
inspiration, and this holy will I find in my rules, in my 
observances, and in all that my superiors ordain for me." 
Truly, the religious, who wishes to have any will of her own 
in a monaster} 7 , imitates not her Spouse ; and, therefore, 
on the day of judgment, she will deserve to be judged 
with the worldly and wilful. O God ! what confusion ! 

First Affection. 

Lord, I confess that all is sure in obedience, and all is 
uncertain apart from it. Alas! what great evil I have done, 
by letting my own will live ! 

What misery ! I have taken myself back, after having 
given myself to Thee ! ah ! Lord, I repent of this fault, 
and throwing myself again into the arms of obedience and 
of my superiors, I resolve, with Thy grace, to walk on 
blindly, not looking by what road they lead me, but only 
to the blessed country whither they are leading me, to Thy 
holy eternity. 



372 ON CHASTITY. 

Second Affection. 

Ah ! my meek and obedient Lord, how ill-advised have 
I been, when I have preferred obedience in high things 
rather than in lowly ones ! No, my God, permit not that 
this disorder come upon me, but make me regard with a 
devout eye the meanest things, as exercises in which I 
may imitate more easily Thy holy humanity brought low 
and humiliated. May it then never happen to me to 
murmur at what I am commanded, nor to find fault with 
the employments given me, but may I rejoice with sincere 
affection that my meat and sweetest food are to do all 
things according to holy obedience. 

Third Affection. 

O ! my own judgment, seducer of my will ! It is time 
that I destroy thee, otherwise thou wilt destroy me. 
Ah ! my God, no, I will not cut off my own will because 
it leads me to evil, but because it hinders me from following 
Thee. Thou, Who hast been obedient even to death, and 
the death of the cross, make me to live and die only by 
obedience! Alas! our Saviour will not do His all holy will, 
and dare I ever presume to do mine, which is all evil? 



MEDITATION XI. • 

ON CHASTITY. 

First Point. 

Consider the favor that God has done you, in having 
chosen you for His Spouse, since, ordinarily, a maiden 
changes her condition into that of her husband, and be- 
comes a queen if he is king. See with what reverence you 
ought to esteem this grace. " They have been made abo- 
minable as the things they loved," says the prophet, 
speaking of the wicked; and we may say of the good, that 
they become lovely as the things they love. 



ON CHASTITY. 373 

Second Point. 

See to what happiness God has called yon. They who 
remain in the world run great risk of offering God a divided 
heart, and on that account of seeing the heavenly Spouse 
refuse it, saying : "You cannot serve t,wo masters." But, 
souls who leave absolutely all, to consecrate themselves to 
God, are delivered from this danger. They should bar the 
door of their hearts with the bar of a chaste fear, so that 
nothing may enter therein, but what tends to the love and 
service of their Spouse. 

Third Point. 

Turn over in your mind the interior perfection to which 
this vow obliges you, drawing it from the words of 
the rule, which gives you liberty to live, breathe, 
or aspire, only for the heavenly Spouse. If you must 
still have conversation, let it be unspotted and angelic. 
Ah ' blessed are the pure and clean of heart, for they shall 
see God ! 

First Affection. 

Jesus ! dear Spouse of pure souls, I admire the ex- 
cess of Thy goodness, which, having chosen me for a dig- 
nit}' so great as that of Thy spouse, has not yet cast me 
off, seeing that I have so often failed in fidelity to Thee. 
For this reason, I return a thousand thanks to Thy 
supreme goodness. My soul, humble thyself profoundly 
before this great company of virgins, who follow the 
Lamb whithersoever He goeth, and His most holy Mother ! 
Entreat them to present } t ou to Jesus, King of virgins ; and 
let us be devout to our good angel, for these heavenly 
spirits take pleasure in guarding the bed of King Solomon, 
the pure, humble, devout and faithful soul. 

Second Affection. 

My beloved, that I may keep for Thee alone the garden 
of my heart, do me the grace, that I may set it round 
about with the thorns of holy mortification, that I may 



574 OUR MISERY AND WEAKNESS. 

close the doors and windows of my senses, so that none of 
my thoughts may ever get abroad, but that my whole 
soul may remain entirely occupied with Thee, O my only 
consolation and my most sweet refuge ! 

Third Affection. 

When shall it be, my God, that, assisted by Thy grace, 
I shall walk in my way, according to the whole extent of 
my obligations, and that the words of my vows shall be 
ever before my eyes, so that avoiding error, immortifi- 
cation of the senses, useless occupations of mind, I may 
only aspire to and breathe for Thee ? Grant me this favor, 
O my God ! and may the things of the world rather turn 
for me into bitterness and mortification, that Thou alone 
may est be sweet to my soul, and my thoughts have no 
pleasure but in Thy supreme sweetness. 



f 
MEDITATION XII. 

TO HELP US TO KNOW OUR MISERY AND WEAKNESS. 

First Point. 

What is the human creature, but a thin smoke that is 
dispersed, and as Job says, " a vain leaf shaken by the 
wind, the sport of evil, inconstancj* without firmness, and, 
in the end, the prey of the sepulchre." But even this same 
misery has reached such an extremity by the freedom of 
its depraved will, that it turns almost everything to 
its own injury, and breaks its neck on the living stone 
which was placed to support and steady it. 

Second Point. 

Look how little you can do of yourself, being so insig- 
nificant : much evil and no good. You can fall into a 
thousand sins and remain in this miserable state, without 
the power of rising of yourself, until the Lord, by lights, 



OUtt MISERY AND WEAKNESS, 37o 

fears, remorse, and salutary motions, makes you return to 
Him. Say then with St. Augustine : " O Lord, without 
Thee, I can go to death, but never without Thee can I find 
the way of life." 

Third Point. 

Consider, further, that your frailty is so great, that when 
you are in the way of virtue, you cannot walk therein of 
yourself. If our Lord, by a continual care, watched not 
over your conduct, you would sin every moment, and you 
would fall. 

O religious soul ! beware lest the Lord make this com- 
plaint of thee : " Israel was weak, I guided him Myself, 
but he has shaken off My hand and lost himself." 

First Affection. 

Ah ! Lord, be my helper ! but rather make haste to help 
me ! Alas ! I am only an atom and a nothing ; yet I wish 
to raise myself. O my God ! I will say with David, Thou 
art my Father, my God, and the rock of my salva- 
tion ; take me from the guidance of my own will, and let 
Thy right hand uphold Thy feeble servant. 

Second Affection. 

But, O my God, if owing to my wretchedness, it hap- 
pens that I fall into this miserable precipice of sin, ah ! 
look on me with Thine eye of favor ; for without Thy 
help, I cannot so much as have the thought of rising from 
this abyss. My dear soul, understand thy misery, and, 
therefore, keep thyself most humble and dependent on 
Thy divine spouse. 

Third Affection. 

Lord, I confess that my beginning, my perseverance, 
and my end depend on Thee. Ah ! if Thy goodness had 
not hitherto helped me, I had fallen. Oh, Thou that 
leadest Israel ! no, never, by Thy grace, will I let go Thy 
gentle hand, which carries and leads me by the way of 
Thy will ! Ah ! rather, Lord let Thy right hand be under 



376 OUR SAVIOUR'S SUB3USSI0N IN CHILDIIOOD. 

my head, and let Thy left hand embrace me ; thus shall I 
see, that I have nothing that I have not received from Thy 
bounty. Of what, then, can I boast, unless of this, 
that I am nothing and my God is all? 



MEDITATION XIII. 

ON THE SUBMISSION OUR SAVIOUR PRACTISED IN HIS 
DIVINE CHILDHOOD. 

First Point. 

Consider first the submission of this eternal Son to the 
will of His heavenly Father. Seeing that He wished to 
save man, He offered Himself and submitted to come down 
to earth and be enclosed in the pure womb of the most 
hoi} 7 Virgin. He who was so great, all -seeing, all-powerful, 
ail- perfect, refused not, and as the church sings, abhorred 
not this little, dark and narrow prison, because such was 
His Father's will. 

Second Point. 

Consider that this good Saviour, having submitted to 
the office of Redeemer of men, submitted so completely 
to all belonging thereto, that He was content to hide His 
eternal wisdom under the veil of childhood. He, Who was 
the uncreated Word, submitted to be silent, and not to 
speak sooner than ordinary children ; in short He Who 
was rich, mighty, immortal, submitted to appear poor, 
feeble and mortal. And I, a little worm of the earth, I 
wish to speak and exalt myself. 

Third Point. 

Consider how far the submission of this divine Saviour 
extended, since the Evangelist says, that He was obedient 
in all things to the most holy Virgin and the glorious St. 
Joseph. At the mercy of their guidance, He allows Him- 
self to be carried back and forth, and turned in every direc- 



OFF SAVIOUR'S SUBMISSION IN CHILDHOOD. 377 

tion with eqiuil indifference, because, without doubt, He 
regarded them as persons commissioned by His eternal 
Father for the guidance of His most holy childhood. 

First Affection. 

O eternal God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who 
for our good hast sent Him from Thy bosom to take upon 
Him our life, that He might give us His ; ah ! send into 
my heart affections of gratitude, and to my lips words of 
thanksgiving for this benefit ! O good Jesus ! how happy 
should I be, if, according to my littleness, I could enter 
into the imitation of Thy submission ! If obedience were to 
send me here, or leave me there, or commission me to some- 
thing, 1 should find no place too little, too inconvenient; 
all would be well received by my will, if it were submissive 
to that of Thy heavenly Father. Is it possible, O my 
God ! that I can see Thee undertake so much for me, and 
that I will undertake nothing for Thee? Thou must, O 
my soul ! take courage, to imitate Th} T Spouse ; ascend to 
Him by this happy descent of submission. 

Second Affection. 

Ah ! my Lord, since to obey Thee I have embraced the 
religious vocation ; so to imitate Thee, I will, with Thy 
grace, submit myself to Tlrv example in all that depends 
on and belongs to this state. Being nothing, I will desire 
to appear to be nothing. Having to become as a little child, 
that I may gain the kingdom of heaven, I will keep silence, 
and be as one unable to speak, unless for charity or neces- 
sity ; such are the desires of my heart. But, O gentle 
and divine Child ! from Thee, and not from myself, I look 
for the grace, the strength, and the fidelity I need to 
effect this. 

TJrird Affection. 

What dost Thou teach me, O my divine Master ! by 
Thy submission to the most holy Virgin and St. Joseph, 
but to ask for nothing and refuse nothing ; but to keep 
myself wholly dependent on the will and direction of my 



378 G&ACE OF BEING DAUGHTERS OF HOLY ClWRCH. 

superiors, whom the heavenly Father has appointed for 
me? Ah ! my God, how ashamed I ought to be when I 
see Thee obedient in all things, and myself so often 
rebellious ! Permit no more, O Lord, that this misery 
befall me, but grant me this mercy, that by adoring Thy 
submission, I may enter on the practice of this holy virtue. 



MEDITATION XIV. 

ON THE INCOMPARABLE GRACE OF BEING DAUGHTERS OF 
HOLY CHURCH. 

First Point. 

m 

Consider that Jesus Christ came into this world in order to 
establish His holy Church, as the mother of all the children 
of salvation. This is a work so excellent, that He Himself 
was to be the Founder: "Peter," said He, "thou art 
Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 

Second Point. 

Look at the majesty and holiness of this Church. 
Jesus Christ is her head, she is His only Spouse ; whoever 
is not a child of this holy Mother, cannot be a child of God. 
Oh ! how rich she is ! the keys of heaven are given her, 
the sacraments are her treasures, and the triumphant 
Jerusalem is her own sister. 

Third Point. 

Consider the excellent grace God has bestowed on you 
in making you daughters of this Church. This was the 
whole glory of the saints. " I value myself for nothing," 
St. Catherine used to say, " except for being a chris- 
tian ;" and another martyr sang as he died : "lam the 
son of a Mother, the most holy Church, whose true 
children never die." St. Teresa could not thank God 
enough for being a daughter of His Church. 



GRACE OF BEING DAUGHTERS OF HOLY CHURCH. 379 

Our holy Founder held it for his happiness in this 
world to employ his labors and his iit'e in the service of 
this true Spouse of Jesus Christ. " Ah !" he used to sa}*, 
" how I feel my courage animated beyond measure to 
serve more faithfully than ever the Church of the living 
God, and the God living in the Church." In short, the 
saints had no other happiness, and they were consumed 
with gratitude ; and, perhaps, you have never thought of 
rendering thanks to God for so great a benefit. 

First Affection. 

Lord, though my heart were to melt with love and 
thanksgiving to Thee for having built this holy Church 
for us, I should not even then be doing all I ought to do. 
When I consider her, I cannot refrain from saying with 
David : " Blessed be the work of the hands of my God, 
and blessed be we forever in His work !" 

Second Affection. 

Hail to thee, only dove without spot, pillar of all firm- 
ness, house of the King, Mother most benignant, who 
receivest repentant sinners and reconcilest them with 
God, Mother most kind, feeding thy children with the 
Bread of Life, and giving them to drink of the very Blood 
of the Spouse ! Ah ! how I will love my religious voca- 
tion ! Certainly, my God, I believe that Thou hast given 
it to me only that I might render myself a more worthy 
daughter of a Mother so worthy ! O holy Spouse of the 
divine Bridegroom ! I will, His grace helping me, embrace 
all thy maxims, honor all thy holy ceremonies, and drink 
thy doctrine as a saving draught ! 

Third Affection. 

My soul be astounded ! ah ! Lord, who am I that Thou 
shouldst have placed me in this Tabernacle of the just 
among the company of Thy holy apostles, of Thy martyrs, 
of Thy venerable pontiffs and confessors, of Thy most 
pure virgins, and of all Thy beloved elect? I confess, O 



380 BENEFITS OF THE RELIGIOUS YOCATIOX. 

my God, that this is the grace of graces, and that Thy 
grace alone has given it to me. O holy company of the 
elect of my Lord Jesus, ah ! who will do me this favor, 
unless j'ou by your prayers, that I may never render 
myself unworthy of your society, but that rather in this 
world, as a generous daughter of the Church militant, I 
may never cease to combat against myself, and that my 
heart may ascend in virtue, until I arrive at the triumphant 
Jerusalem in your sweet company ! 



MEDITATION XV\ 

ON THE SINGULAR BENEFITS OF THE RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 

First Point. 

Consider that Solomon having weighed everything 
under heaven, assures us that it is nothing but vanity and 
affliction of spirit. What is it, then, that we quit for God, 
when we enter the religious life? Verily only phantoms 
and appearances of good, and, as the prophet assures us 
that all things are as if they were not before God, so all 
is nothing, O God, and what have we given up for our 
own part? Still our wretchedness is so great, and we are 
struck with such blindness, that we persuade ourselves we 
have done a great thing for God in leaving these nothings ; 
and all the time, O Lord ! it is Thou, Who hast done a great 
tiling for us, by making us leave them ! 

Second Point. 

Consider that you were not capable of giving yourself 
to so holy a vocation. It is God who has called you to it, 
by an incomparable love, constraining you without vio- 
lence to come out of Sodom and enter into his banquet 
chamber. The religious life is not a natural life, it is 
above nature ; grace must give it, and must be the soul of 
this. 



BENEFITS OF THE RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 381 



Third Point. 

Consider what gratitude you ought to have to this divine 
Saviour, Who has deigned by the interposition of His most 
holy Mother, to change for you water into wine, and render 
you wholly His. Ask of God a livety gratitude for this 
grace, for it is not less than the grace of vocation itself. 
The ingratitude of the children of Israel, who hud been 
withdrawn from the bondage of Egypt into the solitude of 
the desert, angered the Lord so greatly, that He was minded 
to exterminate them all. 



First Affec Hon. 

O Lord ! what have I left in quitting the world, but a 
poverty full of cares, or some poor possession full of 
unrest? I have quitted trouble, anguish, dissension, con- 
tinual occasions of being lost, and Thou hast given me a 
peaceful life, tranquil, full of holy union, and furnished 
with a thousand means of uniting my soul to Thee. Alas ! 

my God ! I confess that Thou hast done much for me, 
and I have done nothing for Thee, by entering into this 
calling. I am a useless servant, yea, even an ungrateful 
one, if I do not that for which Thou hast tailed me to Thy 
service. 

Second Affection. 

What shall I render Thee, my God, for this precious 
benefit, which Thou hast bestowed on me? I will pay 
Thee my vows by a punctual observance in the sight of 
Thy people; that is to say, my King, that b} r Thy grace 

1 will live as a true religious, my soul always raised to 
Thee, doing continual violence to my nature, loving self- 
contempt, without ever blaming those who shall blame 
me, or departing from the narrow way that leads to life. 
Ah ! most holy Virgin, since it is by means of thee that I 
have this favor of dwelling in thy house all the days of 
my life, favorably help me that I may so live therein 
that thou mayest not deny me the grace to be acknow- 
ledged as Thy daughter. 



382 THr RELIGIOUS LIFE. 



Third Afection. 



Lord, Who didst say of old : '• What could I have done 
for Israel that I have not done?" methinks these words 
are addressed to my soul. O unwise religious ! what has 
not the Lord done for you, and you return Him not the 
thanks that are due ? Alas ! you ought to be full of joy 
at seeing yourself out of Egypt, and keep yourself 
lovingly in retirement, solitary, fleeing all that savors of 
the world. And on the contrary, you are irritating the 
spouse, seeking, perhaps, your satisfaction and conveni- 
ence, even more than if you were still in the world. O 
my Beloved ! I confess that I have not deserved to taste 
Thy sweet manna ; but, henceforth, I renounce all, I am 
dead to the world, and bless a thousand times the day 
that I died thereto, that I might live only to Thee. 



MEDITATION XVI. 

THAT THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OBLIGES US STRICTLY TO FOLLOW 
OUR SAVIOUR. 

First Point 

Consider that our Saviour, calling His disciples, 
said to them : " Follow Me." Whether they were fishing, 
as St. Peter and St. Andrew, whether they were mending 
their nets, as the sons of Zebedee, whether they were at 
the receipt of custom, as St. Mathew, all had the same 
summons : u Follow Me," teaching me that all those, who 
are called to the religious life and evangelical perfection 
are called to follow our Saviour in His Humanity, prac- 
tising virtue after His example. 

Second Point. 

Consider how we must follow our Saviour, and learn this 
from His own words. " If any man come after Me," says 
He, " let him deny himself, and take up his cross and 



THE RELIGIOUS LIFE. 383 

follow Me." But, divine Saviour ! whither shall we 
follow Thee ? All the time of Thy life, Thou hast walked 
only in the paths of perfect poverty, of continual con- 
tempt, abasement and abjection before creatures, and of 
continual toil. Is it, then, by these paths that we must 
follow Thee? Is it in these things that the religious soul 
is obliged to follow Thy steps? O great, but precious 
self-denial ! 

Third Point. 

Consider into what misery they fall, who, after having 
undertaken to follow our Saviour, turn back. Alas ! 
such, says He, are not fit for the kingdom of heaven, an}' 
more than the}', who walk only virtuously in some one 
thing, and who are stationary in other things. "I tell 
you weeping " said St. Paul in his ardor, " that there are 
some who walk as enemies of the Cross of Jesus Christ, 
whose end is destruction.'* 



First Affection. 

O Lord ! of Whom it is written, that having gone up to 
the mountain, Thou didst call to Thee those, whom it 
pleased Thee to choose to be of Thy disciples, I am come 
to Thee on this mountain of religious perfection, because 
Thou hast called me. Receive me according to Thy word 
and I shall live. But, Lord, how shall I be able to follow 
Thee, Thou, Who, as the Prophet declares, art come as a 
giant to run Thy course from the height of heaven in this 
world ! Ah ! Thou must be my strength, and the speed of my 
feet. O careless religious, why follow ye your Spouse so 
far off ; is it no concern of yours to draw nigh to Him ? 
Ah ! if you would reach Him, follow Him without stopping, 
for in this course, he who stops goes back ; he who gains 
not, loses. 

Second Affection. 

O self ! I renounce thee, since I cannot follow my Jesus 
without doing so ! holy cross of my vocation ! I embrace 
thee with all my soul, seeing it is with thee that I am to 
follow my Spouse ! Divine spouse, Who only passeth by 



384 PRINCIPAL LESSONS FOR A RELIGIOUS SOUL. 

the paths of a hidden, afflicted, suffering and despised life, 
enlarge my heart, that I may run after Thee in this happy 
way ! religious souls ! if you turned away from all, if 
you wholly renounced yourselves, the fragrance of the 
Beloved, His holy example would allure you, and you 
would run after the odor of His divine perfumes ! 

Third Affection. 

Ah ! how deplorable a thing it is to see so many sloth- 
ful and lukewarm souls, who stop every moment in the 
road of their perfection ! O divine Master, Who hast called 
me because such has been Thy love towards me ; ah ! by 
Thy grace, make me follow Thee, not afar off, but step by 
step according to my power ! O religious soul ! leave the 
dead to bury the dead, but thou, who hast found thy Jesus, 
Who is thy life and thy way, follow Him ! 



MEDITATION XVII. 

ON THE PRINCIPAL LESSONS THAT OUR SAVIOUR TEACHES 
THE RELIGIOUS SOUL. 

First Point. 

Consider that the meek Jesus coming into the world gave 
birth to the religious life, and the first lesson he gave to 
His beloved novices was : " Learn of Me, because I am 
meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest to your 
souls !" My soul, cast Thyself at the feet of thy Spouse, 
listen to this divine lesson of meekness, humility, and 
peace ; retain it, engrave it in the depth of thy heart, and 
place it as the base and foundation of thy piety, of thy 
perfection and salvation. 

Second Point. 

Passing on to the perfections which this divine Master 
from heaven gives to His children, listen to what He says 



PRINCIPAL LESSONS FOR A RELIGIOUS SOUL. 385 

to them, and to 3 t ou also. " Unless you become as little 
children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
O Lesson of innocence, of simplicity, of openness, of 
good faith, of holy artlessness, and of perfect submission ! 
what, Lord, if we become not as these little children, we 
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven? Ah! the 
great threat ! we do not weigh its importance enough. 

Third Point. 

As a third precept, this good Director teaches that we 
must labor, pray without ceasing, and be fruitful in 
good works. You, My disciples, I have planted in My 
evangelical soil, but all those who shall not bear fruit 
therein shall be plucked up and cast into the fire. Abide 
in My presence, united with Me as the branch to its vine, 
to the end that you may bring forth fruits worthy of your 
calling, for My Father, Who is the heavenly vine-dresser, 
will cut off all the branches that bring forth no fruit. To 
thee, my soul, are all these words addressed. Weigh them 
in the scales of the sanctuary, and pass not lightly over 
them. 

First Affection. 

O my holy Founder ! You, Who love us more with less of 
other virtues and more humility than with more of other 
virtues and less of humility ; ah ! come by your powerful 
intercession to aid my weakness ! O Saint ! truly humble 
of heart, help me for, in truth, pride and self-esteem have so 
closed the ears of my soul, that these holy lessons of humility 
and meekness have not yet penetrated to my interior. O 
meek Jesus ! O humble Jesus ! if we must learn of Thee 
these divine virtues, in what degree of perfection must we 
practice them ! I see Thee everywhere meek and humble, 
in life, in conversation, in insults, in praises, in labors, 
and in death itself. 

Second Affection. 

Ah ! my soul, wilt thou not take greatly to heart this 
holy, child-like simplicity, since the Holy Spirit dwells 
not in this world in double souls, and they shall 
25 



386 HOW TO WIN THE HEART OF HER BELOVED. 

not dwell eternally in heaven. Depart from me, then, 
false prudence, human respect, reflections on creatures, 
and on myself. All these follies do not go on in the mind 
of an innocent child, given me for a portrait of simplicity. 
Ah ! Lord, if I can have this dear virtue, Thou wilt take 
me lovingly in Thy divine arms, for simple souls are the 
children of love. 

Third Affection. 

Little will it profit me, O divine Sower ! that Thou hast 
cast and planted me in the good ground of holy religion, 
if I bear not fruits worthy of eternal life. Thou wilt pluck 
me up, my divine Saviour. Ah ! may this unhappiness 
never befall me ! and for that end, may the grace of my 
vocation never be vain in me ! May Thy divine presence 
be the dew and the sun making me produce the works of 
life and salvation ! 



MEDITATION XVIII. 

EY WHAT MEANS THE RELIGIUOS SOUL WINS THE HEART 
OF HER BELOVED. 

First Point. 

Consider that God having gently won you away from 
the midst of worldlings, wills also that, by an humble 
exchange you should win from Him His divine heart by 
love. Alas ! what way will you take ? Listen, He, Himself, 
is your teacher. "My sister," says He, "Thou hast 
wounded M3* heart with one of Thy eyes, and with one hair 
of Thy neck." See that by the practice of heroic works 
and of great virtues, you carry away the heart of this 
Beloved, and that you do so by the practice of the 
small, lowly, and little virtues. 

Second Point. 

Consider that as in the human body there are but two 
eyes and very many hairs, your spouse displays incompara- 



BOW TO WIN THE HEART OF HER BELOVED. 387 

ble clemency, in that you can ravish His Heart by a single 
hair. Ah ! at any moment, you can possess this divine 
Heart, for what else are the hairs but the little observances, 
those tiny ceremonies, those daity virtues which may be 
gathered at every tuin? When you neglect to practice 
them, you are not considering that you are neglecting to win 
the Heart of God. i( If thou wilt enter into life," said the 
meek Jesus, " keep the commandments." 

Third Point. 

Consider the account the saints have made of the prac- 
tice of these little virtues. They have said, that he who 
neglects little things shall soon fall into greater ; they have 
said that all the little monastic ordinances, and observances 
are the hedge that preserves religion, as the vineyard of 
the Lord, from wild beasts, and that whoever throws down 
this hedge shall be bitten b} 7 the infernal serpent. They 
have said, that such little observances are the habit of 
religion, which, but for that, would appear naked and with- 
out ornaments. In a word, our holy Founder has said that 
if he were in one of our monasteries he would be so exact 
in all those little practices, that he would thereby hope to 
win the Heart of God. 



First Affection. 

O sovereign goodness of this great God, how adorable 
Thou art! What king ever taught his vassals the way of 
entering into his secret chamber, that they might take 
from him his treasures ! and yet, O God of goodness ! 
Thou teachest me how I may steal Thy Heart and render 
it all mine. Alas ! Lord, if it had only been the martyrs 
who could have won Thy Heart by giving their lives and 
their blood, what could we do? But those who are morti- 
fied have the same privilege. If it had only been the con- 
verters of nations, what could we do? But they who find 
their pleasure in speaking humbly and familiarly of Thee, 
who inspire hearts with good thoughts, have the same 
favor. If it had only been the conquerors of others, what 



388 ON THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR. 

could we do? But the couquerors of themselves have the 
same happiness, blessed for ever be Thy sweet goodness ! 

Second Affection. 

Ah ! holy and little virtues, which like flowers grow at 
the foot of the cross of my Jesus, I will henceforth with a 
holy solicitude gather you that I may present you with 
reverence to this Spouse ! But, my Jesus, preserve me from 
the reproach Thou didst make to the Pharisees, saying to 
them, that they did the small things and left the great un- 
done. Grant me this grace, that I may do the one, and not 
omit the other. As Thou, my Lord, Who takest the little 
children into Thy arms by love and gentleness, and ceasest 
not to carry all sinners, as a great load on Thy shoulders, 
by mercy ; grant that I may well observe silence, accord- 
ing to my obligation, and that devotion may prevent me 
from saying useless words ; grant that I may obey my 
superiors exactly, and condescend willingly to my equals 
through love. 

Third Affection. 

O Religion, my holy mother ! God grant that T may 
never rob Thee of Thy holy habits, nor break down the 
hedge that preserves thee ! my God, with Thy grace, I will 
observe all, and at the end, confess humbly that I am a 
useless servant. 



MEDITATION XIX. 

ON THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR. 

First Point. 

Consider, that our Saviour, seeing the hour of His death 
draw near, gathered together all His disciples, to engrave 
in their hearts His last will and instructions. He said 
to them : " A new commandment I give unto you : That 
you love one another, as I have loved you," and again, 
" By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if 
you have love one for another." 



ON THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR. 38$ 

Second Point. 

Consider that our Saviour not only taught this love for 
our neighbor by words, but by His adorable example. 
Willing to die for the love of all, He gave Himself in the 
most Holy Sacrament to His Apostles, and even to Judas, 
whom He refused not to kiss, although His enemy. Ah ! 
my Saviour, this example confounds me. Alas ! scarcely 
am I willing to incon\enience myself ever so little, or to 
thwart my wishes for the love of my neighbor ! Yet 
Thou dost teach me, that I must love in deed and truth, 
and not alone in word, and that shall I enter Thy heavenly 
temple only by the door of charity. Two keys open this 
door, the love of God and the love of our neighbor. 

Third Point. 

Consider that our Lord does not say : "Love some of 
your neighbors," but He takes in all. Therefore, you 
bear unworthily the title of religious if this love is not 
perfect in 3011 ; for, if you love hot, and have no gratitude 
towards those who do you good, you are thankless ; if you 
love not those who despise you, you are proud ; if you 
love not those who afflict you, you are impatient; whereby 
you see, that without this holy charity ior your neighbor, 
you are without virtue. 

First Affection. 

O Lord ! alas ! if Thy servants are onty known by this 
holy mark of charity towards their neighbor, I have great 
reason to fear, I, who love myself so much, that I can 
hardly resolve to give up a little of my interests for the 
love of tins dear neighbor. Still, O heavenly Master! 
Thou givest me Thy love for model. My soul, let us here 
see in the presence of our Lord, how we ought to love our 
neighbor after His example. Good Jesus, Thou hast taken 
upon Thee afflictions to gain for him repose, Thou hast 
taken upon Thee ignominy to gain for him glory. See 
here, my soul ! what Thou must try to do. Ah ! Lord, 
strip me of self-love, so that I may imitate Thee. 



390 ON THE GARDEN OF OLIVES. 



Second Affection. 



It is from the depth of my soul, sweet Jesus, that I ask 
of Thee the favor, that Thou wilt give me grace always to 
put myself iu my neighbor's place. May I never do to 
him aught but what I would have him do to me. Ah ! 
Lord, if I look with an evil eye on those who offend me, 
Thou wilt in like manner withdraw from me Thy blessed 
looks ; if 1 speak ill of my neighbor, Thou wilt be silent 
towards me, and say^ not a word to my soul ; if I refuse 
him my services, Thou wilt withdraw from me Thy grace's. 

Third Affection. 

God forbid that I should have any exceptions in love 
for my neighbor. Ah ! Lord, Thou wilt give me Thy 
grace, and without regarding myself, I will love Thee in 
all my neighbors, and will never love any one but in Thee 
and for Thee. Depart from my soul, private friendships, 
depart particular affections What ! would you distract 
my heart with divers objects, and draw my mind away 
from its duty and its rule ! But come into my heart, O 
sweet religious union and holy common life, for you the 
Lord blesses. 



MEDITATION XX. 

ON THE GARDEN OF OLIVES. 

4 
First Point. 

Consider the Lord of majesty withdrawn by night into 
this Garden of Olives. He becomes pale, sorrow seizes 
Him. " Ah !" says He, " my soul is sorrowful even unto 
death," and prostrating Himself on the ground in prayer, 
He says to His eternal Father : " My Father, if it be pos- 
sible, let this chalice pass from Me, nevertheless, not as I 
will, but as Thou wilt." And He repeated three times 
the same prayer, with such anguish and strength, that He 
began to sweat blood and water. 



VN THE GARDEN Op OLIVES. 391 



Second Point. 



Consider what it is that could have brought these 
sorrows of death into the soul of Life. Doubtless it is 
love which has laid upon Him the sins of all men, and 
which would for the good of men make Him feel their 
effects and the fears of the inferior part. What sayest 
Thou, O my Jesus, that Thy soul is sorrowful even unto 
death? Alas ! didst Thou not say to Thy disciples, that 
Thou hadst a great desire to be baptized with the Baptism 
of Thy Passion ? Yes, Thou didst indeed say it, but, as 
St. Augustine, says having first created us by power and 
authority, Thou wilt redeem us by weakness and suffering. 

Third Point. 

Consider that the eternal Father heard His Son for His 
reverence, says St. Paul, and, as the Benjamin of His 
heart, He sent Him the cup of torments by one of His 
angelic servants. Then, the meek Jesus received this 
chalice with so great love, that He resolved to drink it to 
the last drop, and to leave therein neither insults, nor 
pains, nor outrages, nor sorrows that He did not undergo, 
and, therefore, He goes Himself to meet His enemies. 

First Affection. 

O Jesus ! afflicted even unto death, now I indeed say to 
Thee : Eve tasted, in the garden, the sweetness of fruit ; 
but love has made Thee, my Redeemer, taste there the 
bitterness of the penalty due to her vain pleasure. Ah ! 
what great secrets are enclosed in this garden ! Dear 
Spouse, when Thou art sad and in affliction, Thou with- 
drawest from Thy closest friends, and I, however little my 
trouble, run to creatures to seek some consolation. Thou 
turnest to Thy Father, but with such resignation and 
perseverance that Thou didst sweat blood, and I cannot 
watch even one hour with Thee, I become weary of prayer, 
I am only half resigned. Ah ! may I learn in future Thy 
language : " Not my will, O my Father ! but Thine be 
done." 



392 ON THE LOVE OF OUR SAVIOUR. 

Second Affection, 

Ah ! Jesus, love stronger than death loaded Thee in 
this garden of Thy sorrows with all my sins, with all my 
infidelities, with the refusals I was to make of Thy grace, 
and in this way love, overwhelmed Thee on account of my 
wretchedness. My good Jesus ! if such apprehensions can 
be in Thy inferior part in face of death, what am I to 
think, criminal that I am, seeing Thee thus, King of inno- 
cence ! but as Thy death has obtained life for Thy 
children, so Thy weakness has obtained for them strength. 

Third Affection . 

O creatures ! prevent me not from drinking the chalice 
of affliction* that my heavenly Father sends me, for I will 
be conformed to my Jesus suffering. Take, my humble 
Jesus, take this chalice, which Thy Father sends Thee. 
Ah, my soul, what is it that the Father sends to His Son ? 
Is it consolation? nay, is it not rather an increase of 
torments? Is it not His consolation to do in all things the 
will of His Father? That strengthens Him ; and instead 
of shunning them, He goes to meet His sorrows. O 
creatures ! whosoever ye be, hinder me not from taking 
the chalice my Father gives me ! 



MEDITATION XXI. 

ON THE LOVE OF OUR SAVIOUR IN HIS SUFFERINGS. 

First Point. 

Consider that the Eternal Father has so loved the 
world, that He has given to it His only Son ; and the Son 
has so loved the will of His Father, that, seeing Him 
desirous of saving human nature, without heeding the 
meanness and indignity of the thing, He willingly offered 
a prodigious price for its ransom : His Blood, His sweat, 
and His life. 



ON THE LOVE OF OUR SAVIOUR. 393 

Second Point. 

Thus, this Saviour in His love does His Father's will 
and accomplishes the Redemption of the world. In each 
mystery of His Passion, He said : O my Father ! human 
nature, which we love, would be sufficiently redeemed by 
one of My tears ; but that would not suffice for the 
reverence I have for Thy will aud for My own love. Over 
and above My anguish in the garden, I will to be scourged, 
to be crowned with thorns, to have My body all disfigured, 
to become like a leper, without form or beauty. 

Third Point. 

Thus the meek Jesus was scourged, crowned, con- 
demned, mocked, and rejected in His quality of man, 
destined and dedicated to carry and bear reproaches and 
ignominies, in punishment due to sin. He has served 
as a general sacrifice for sin, having been made as one 
accursed, separated from, and abandoned by His eternal 
Father. 

First Affection. 

My soul, live from this day forth amid our Saviour's 
scourges and thorns, and there, like a nightingale on its 
thornbush, humbl} T sigh forth : hail to Thee, Jesus, Who 
wilt die that my soul may live ! Ah ! Eternal Father, 
what can the world render Thee for the gift Thou hast 
made it of Thine own Son? Alas, to redeem so vile a 
creature as T am, He has given and delivered Himself up, 
and wretch that T am, T hesitate to give and abandon my 
nothingness to Him, AYho has given me His all. 

Second, Affection. 

Ah ! if I am a Spouse of Jesus crucified and suffering, 
I ought all my life-time to hold it a favor to wear His 
livery, namely, the nails, the thorns, and the lance 
Remember, nry soul, that the gall and the vinegar are the 
wine of His marriage feast ; seek not in this world 
sweetness and joys. Too great an honor is it, O King 



394 OUR SAVIOUR ON THE CROSS. 

of Glory, to drink with Thee the cup of sorrow ! May 
I, then, never refuse this draught; for, O God! says 
David, it is the drink of Thy beloved. 

Third Affection. 

O religious souls ! you, who have undertaken to follow 
Jesus Crucified, know that you are to be stripped of your 
own affections, as He was of His holy garment ! Ah, God, 
I deceive myself if I gather the myrrh of Thy mortifi- 
cations with one hand, and the miserable pleasures of 
earth with the other. Keep me from this misfortune, my 
beloved Jesus, and make me follow Thee, even to glory 
by the way of sorrow. 



MEDITATION XXII. 

OUR SA.VI0UR ON THE CROSS. 

First Point 

Consider what St. Augustine says, "that Isaac was 
offered up in will where Jesus was crucified, and our 
Saviour's cross was planted on the burial place of Adam," 
it being most fitting, that the physician should be lifted 
up where the sick man lay, and that where pride had 
fallen the divine mercy should stoop. That the Blessed 
Saviour might let His Blood drop on the ashes of the 
original sinner, and that we might know that His sin was 
cleansed when it was nailed to the Cross, this Cross was 
planted on the sepulchere of him, who first sinned through 
disobedience. 

Second Point. 

Consider the divine Saviour raised and extended on 
this Cross, as on a glorious funeral-pile. Then it was 
that this great Pontiff offered to His Father the perfect 
sacrifice ; then did He dart His thoughts of love particu- 
larly on us. Ah ! My eternal Father, I take upon Me 



om SAViom ox tbe cross. 895 

and charge Myself with all tbe sins of this child, to suffer 
death, that she may be delivered from it ; let me die, 
provided she live ; let Me be crucified, provided she be 
glorified. O supreme love of the Heart of Jesus ! what 
heart shall bless Thee devoutly enough ? 

Third Point. 

See that while the Jews are around this Cross with 
hearts of iron and stone, the meek Jesus, as David says, 
was with a heart in His breast all melted with love. 
Like that wonderful bird which draws to itself the 
jaundice of man, and dies to cure him thereof, so our 
good Jesus, the sole bird of paradise, Who was never 
touched by the jaundice of sin, is, notwithstanding, 
fastened on the Cross, taking on Himself all the evil of 
man, His loved friend. He will die with willingness, in 
order to make this poor human nature live. 

First Affection. 

O God ! I will say now, with St. Augustine, all indignant 
at the ingratitude of men : " Is it possible that man should 
know that Thou hast died for him, and that he should not 
live for Thee?" and with St. Francis : " Ah ! Jesus, my 
sweet Jesus, Thou hast died of love, and no one thinks of 
it !" My dear Redeemer, never was Adam's misery so 
poisonous to destroy us, as Thy clemency was powerful to 
save us ! O obedient Jesus ! obedient even to the death 
of the Cross ; ah ! be also the repairer of all my acts of 
disobedience ; let this Precious Blood be distilled into the 
deep wounds of my soul, for it is the medicine of my 
salvation ! 

Second Affection. 

O free will of my heart ! how good would it be for thee 
to be fastened on the cross of the divine Saviour, to die to 
self and be offered as a burnt-offering to the Lord ! 
Never forget, O my soul ! that our congregation is founded 
spiritually on the Mount of Calvary for the service of 
this crucified Lover, in imitation of Whom we must 



39 G ON THE FIRST FIVE WORDS. 

crucify our senses, imaginations, aversions, passions and 
humors, for the love of the heavenly Father. 

Third Affection. 

O innocent Jesus ! Who didst die for my iniquit} 7 , 
grant that I may live no more but for Thy goodness ! 
Mystical serpent ! charity has lifted Thee up. If I 
look not to Thee, my kind physician, I shall not deserve 
to be healed! ah! Lord, may, then, m}' eyes remain 
fixed on Thy sufferings, and my heart fastened on Thy 
goodness. Jesus, by Thy dear hands pierced with nails, 
grant me pardon of my evil works ; by Thy pierced feet 
banish my errors ! 



MEDITATION XXIII. 

ON THE FIRST FIVE WORDS OUR SAVIOUR SPOKE ON THE 
CROSS. 

First Point. 

Consider that the gentle Jesus regarding His enemies 
around Him, said first: " Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do." O what ardent charity! This 
Lord unable to excuse the sin of these wicked men, 
attributes it to their ignorance. And it was on this holy 
cross, with a heart so full of love for men, that, as soon as. 
a thief had asked Him only to remember him, He made 
him a solemn promise of paradise. Ah ! what a terrible 
thing is the fall of those who are in high callings ! 

Judas, an apostle, is lost in his proud malice ; the thief 
humbles himself and is saved. 

Second Point. 

See St. John and the most holy Virgin at the feet of 
their Beloved, Who, regarding His mother in the extremity 
of sorrow, sa} r s to her : " Woman, behold thy son ;" and 
to John : "Behold thy mother." O admirable Mother! 



ON THE FIRST FIVE WORDS. 397 

Ah ! how well must thy heart have been accustomed to 
the language of love and its meaning ! Thou sawest that 
He was giving thee for Mother to His Spouse, the Church, 
to whom, according to St. Augustine, He gave birth on 
the cross ! O incomparable fact ! No sooner had Jesus 
pronounced this third word, than the sun, as if touched 
with lively grief, withdrew its brightness, and darkness 
covered the earth. 

Third Point. 

Listen how, after three hours of silence, the meek Jesus 
cried out: u My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken 
Me." The inferior part was so abandoned, left destitute 
on every side, and surrounded with ills, that Jesus, to give. 
us solace in our weaknesses, complained to His Father. 
Yet, to show that the superior part had no will but to endure 
these same griefs, He cried out: 4t I thirst." Leaving 
aside the bodily thirst, believe, my soul, that He had a 
holy and burning thirst for the salvation of those, who had 
a deadly and burning thirst for His destruction. O poor 
people ! you say, let Jesus come down from the cross ! ah ! 
He is too good to do so. He thirsts too ardently for your 
salvation, which He will win by His death on the Cross. 

First Affection. 

O good and gentle Saviour ! what tenderness of heart 
for my neighbor dost Thou teach me ! Alas ! must I even 
excuse those who crucify my Spouse ! I will say, then, 
with the Apostle : " If they had known it, they would 
never have crucified the Lord of glory." But take care, my 
soul, that the unruly passions, which closed their eyes, 
shut not thine ! ah ! my Saviour, Thou didst excuse them, 
even in the act of sin, and scarcely can we forget a con- 
tradiction very long after having received it ; scarcely can 
we look kindly on those who displease us ever so little. 

Second Affection. 

O most holy and constant Mother ! receive John for thy 
Son, that is to say, receive the children of the Church as 



398 MOST HOLY VIRGIN AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. 

thine. Henceforth, we shall be permitted to call thee 
Mother : ah ! Jesus, Thou wilt indeed die naked and desti- 
tute, giving Thy Mother to another, and not even willing 
to say to her this filial word, Mother. 

Third Affection. 

meek Saviour ! it was not to act against holy indiffer- 
ence that Thou didst complain to Thy Father, but it was 
to console us in our ills, and to show us the true sufferings 
and anguish of Thy holy Soul, and that not only the 
sorrows of death, but the thirst of love parched Thee and 
gave Thee a holy thirst for our salvation. Alas ! am I 
not a thankless creature, if I complain in my slight deser- 
tions and afflictions, when I see the only Son of the Father 
thirsting to suffer more for my love ! if such a Father 
abandons such a Son, why will He not abandon a mean 
slave ? 



MEDITATION XXIV. 

ON THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN STANDING AT THE FOOT 
OF THE CROSS , 

First Point. 

Consider the most holy Virgin, constant with all con- 
stancy, at the foot of her Son's Cross. Ah ! what dost 
thou seek, O Mother of life ! in this place of Calvary and 
death? Ah ! thou seekest not joy, but Thy dear child, 
and everywhere thy maternal heart makes thee wish to 
be united with this dear Son. Thus I see thee in the place 
of Calvary, taken, tied, fastened and bound to the divine 
Spouse. 

Second Point. 

Consider how love drew all the pains, torments, wounds 
and sufferings of our Redeemer into the heart of His most 
holy Mother. Alas ! the same nails which crucified the 
body of this divine Son, crucified also the Mother's 



MOST HOLY VIRGIN AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. 899 

heart ; the thorns of His crown pierced the soul of this 
meek Mother, so that she might indeed say with truth : 
" My beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh, but so loved, 
that He lies between my breast, that is to say, within 
my breast, and in the midst of my heart." 

Third Point. 

Consider the most holy Virgin as a mystical bee making 
her most excellent honey in the wounds of this Lion of 
the tribe of Juda, slain, rent, and torn in pieces on the 
Cross. O Child of the Cross ! said she, let us glory in 
Thy admirable problem which the world understands not. 
all ye wlio.pass through this world, see how lovely is 
the death of my Son, because it is the supreme effect of 
His love ! Ah ! how necessary it is that my Jesus should 
die, that the whole human race should not perish. 

First Affection. 

Your holy Abbess, O religious souls ! is not on the 
Mount of Thabor, but only on the Mpunt of Calvary, where 
she sees but reproach, powerlessness, spears, nails, and 
darkness. O most constant Mother of love ! all the 
multitude of these waters of affliction have been powerless 
to extinguish thy charity. Alas ! a tiny drop of affliction 
and contradiction makes me withdraw from my suffering 
Love. 

Second Affection. 

As thou wert, O holy Mother ! the greatest vessel, the 
most capacious, the most worthy in the world, thou wert 
also more than any other rilled with bitterness, and with 
the draught of anguish, which thy Beloved swallowed in 
this place of torment ! Ah ! what does that teach me, but 
to receive tribulation as a thing shared with the Spouse ? 
O Mother most pure ! thou callest us, saying : " Come, my 
daughters, let your hearts be vessels quite empty, and my 
Son shall" pour into them the dew, wherewith His head is 
covered." And the drops of the night of His passion that 
are set as pearls around His head shall be changed into 



400 ON THE DEATH OF OUR SAVIOUR ON THE CROSS. 

pearls of consolation. My sweetest Mother, ah ! do me 
the favor, that from this time forth I may receive all the 
little occasions of humiliation, of suffering, and of abjection, 
as tiny drops distilled from this precious head. 

Third Affection. 

O mystical bee ! grant me the grace that, in the hive of 
my cloister and in the little cell of my heart, I may, after 
Thy example, lay up the honey gathered in these holy 
wounds of our Saviour ! Depart from me, earthly taste ; 
the gall of my king shall be to me sweeter than the honey- 
comb. Alas ! O mother of sorrow and fountain of love ! 
permit me no more to depart from the sacred foot of this 
adorable cross ! 



MEDITATION XXV. 

ON THE DEATH OF OUR SAVIOUR ON THE CROSS. 

First Point. 

Consider that it was on the cross, that the eternal Son 
gave the kiss of love to His heavenly Father in behalf of 
mankind. It was then, that the Father perceived a sweet 
smell rise up from the garments of His Son, that is to say, 
from His holy humanity. Ah ! said He, behold the smell 
of my Son is as the smell of a plentiful field ! Yes, for 
Jesus, flower of the field, being pressed under the wine- 
press of the cross, gave out a fragrance that gladdened 
God, enraptured the angels, and saved men. 

Second Point. 

Thus, our Saviour spoke the word: "All is consum- 
mated." The Redemption of the world is accomplished : 
nevertheless, Father, into Thy hands, I commend My spirit. 
1 have already given up to Thee, my body, my sweat, my 
blood ; there remains to me only the spirit that animates this 
body all torn : my Father, I commend it into Thy hands. 



OX THE DEATH OF OUR SAVIOUR ON THE CROSS. 401 

Do with it as it shall please Thee. Though all be accom- 
plished, if it pleases Thee that it still remain in this body, 
or rather that I breathe it forth, my Father, I commend 
it into Thy hands. 

Third Point. 

Consider that the meek Jesus, seeing that His Father 
willed that He should die, death having no power at all to 
enter into Him, Who holds the keys of life and death, love 
opened the door to death, that it might enter to make a 
prey of this divine body : and Jesus having bowed His 
head to give the kiss of peace to His most holy Mother, 
and to His new born church, expired by an election of 
love. Then, O God ! the sepulchres were opened, the 
earth quaked, and the veil of the temple was rent, 
all things rendering homage to Him, Who triumphed over 
death. 

First Affection. 

O Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews ! Ah, how pre- 
cious is the sweet and divine liquor that issues from Thy most 
holy body ! alas ! behold Thee all alone, no one aids Thee 
to turn this wine-press of exceeding weight ! therefore, Thy 
holy body, divine vesture of Thy soul, is all reddened with 
its own blood, because Thou art at the day of Thy vintage. 
Ah ! eternal Father, look in the face of Thy Christ, and 
have pity on His brethren ! Meek Jesus, pressed, trodden 
on, and wounded on all sides, what confusion that I do 
not will mortification to begin its work in me ! Never- 
theless, I shall never shed the sweet liquor of virtue, 
but by this means. O religious souls ! be ashamed to call 
yourselves members of Jesus Christ, if you will not suffer 
with Jesus Christ; for it is great lack of wisdom to see 
delicate and sensual members under a thorn-crowned head. 



Second Affection. 

O my dear Jesus ! I know that torments, so grievous 

that they might have made a whole world die, were still 

not sufficient to make Thee die ! It was necessary that 

Thou shouldst Thyself commend Thy Spirit into the hands 

26 



402 HAPPINESS IN THE CROSS. 

of Thy Father, all being consummated. Ah ! Thou teachest 
me here indeed the real essence of the spiritual life, by a 
perfect surrender of all into the hands of the heavenly 
Father ! Alas ! how I should suffer in pronouncing these 
holy words : Father, into Thy hands, I commend my spirit, 
do with me this or that, according to Thy will ! My 
superiors, I have accomplished your obedience, though 
laborious and abject ; but I give myself again into your 
hands, that if it please you, I may begin it again ! Happy 
were I, if I lived in this way. 

Third Affection. 

Bow Thy head, O my divine King ! call upon death to 
give me life ! Ah ! why fear death? My Jesus has made 
this journey. Ah ! Jesus, God of my life, give me grace 
at the hour of my death to commend my spirit into Thy 
hands, for Thou art my true Father ! Melt with love and 
sorrow, O my soul ! at the sight of Jesus' death for thy 
sin ; come not down from this holy mountain, till thou 
hast buried this Spouse in Thy heart. 



MEDITATION XXVI. 

THAT THE JOY AND HAPPINESS OF THE DEVOUT SOUL IS IN 
THE CROSS. 

First Point. 

Smiting my breast at the foot of the cross of my meek 
Jesus, I will say, "truly this was the Son of God." Now 
may it never be that I glory in myself, nor in the world, 
nor in anything. Let Jonas rejoice under the sh*ide of his 
ivy, let Abraham entertain angels under the tree, let Ismael 
be succored under the wood of the desert ; let Elias be 
fed under the juniper-tree in the wilderness ; as for us, 
we desire no other joy nor shade than that of the cross, no 
other drink than the blood which trickles down it, no other 
f hhI than the fruit of life hanging on the holy cross ! 



HAPPINESS IN THE CROSS. 403 

Second Point. 

Consider how great and venerable is this Cross. Ah ! 
says David, adore the footstool of God ! And what shall 
we say of the Cross which has been the bed, the seat, and 
the throne of this same God? Jacob adored the tip of 
Joseph's rod, and Esther kissed the tip of the rod of her 
spouse Assuerus ; ah ! then, with what reverence will the 
devout soul kiss the Cross, the true royal sceptre of her 
dear Jesus ! will she not say with David : 4k Oh, preach ye 
all, and say that the Lord reigns by the wood?" 

Third Point. 

Consider how much the dearest friends of God have 
loved the Cross. The most holy Virgin, that sacred Suna- 
mite, ascended every moment to this palm-tree to gather 
its fruits. St. Peter had no other strength, St. Paul no 
other glory, St. John no other refuge, and St. Andrew no 
other sweetness. As to our Blessed Father, he protest- 
ed, that if he had known of a little bit of his heart which 
had not been marked with the Cross, he would have plucked 
it out. 

First Affection. 

O most holy Cross, honored by the members of my 
Saviour, ah, thou art the royal gate which leads to the 
temple of holiness, outside of which we shall find none ! 
O religious soul ! place your spirit deep down in the 
wounds suffered by the Lord on this Cross, and see that 
vile and vain is the heart that nestles on any other tree ! I 
salute thee, O holy Cross! standard of salvation, palm- 
tree of life, sword wherewith the devil has been slain, 
medicine of immortality, defence of the present life, 
pledge of eternal life, sacred sign of Christians, trophy 
of King Jesus ! O dear and desirable Cross ! receive me 
into thy venerable arms. 

Second Affection. 

Ah ! Jesus, my Spouse ! by kissing and embracing Thy 
Cross, Thou didst kiss and embrace all our little crosses, 



404 ON OUR SAVIOUR* S RESURRECTION. . 

so as to make us love them more ! O my little crosses ! my 
little troubles, my little dislikes, humiliations, however 
small you may be, my Jesus has seen you, kissed you, and 
sanctified you ; how, then, should I not receive you with 
open heart ! All along the journey of this life, we find 
crosses at every step; if my flesh shudders at them, still 
my heart adores them. Yes, I revereuce you, little and 
great, interior and exterior, fleshy and spiritual crosses, 
unworthy as I am of the honor of your shadow ! 

Third Affection. 

Alas ! whence comes this misery, that reverence for the 
cross has grown so cold? In ancient times, devout 
persons and lovers of Jesus always made this sign of life 
with great veneration, when they ate, when they drank, 
when they rose up, when they sat down. "When thou 
goest out, when thou comest in, when lights are brought 
to thee, cover thyself with this breast-plate, and surround 
thy members with this sacred sign of the Cross, and no 
evil shall come near thee," says an old writer. O holy 
lover of the Cross ! ah, pray that after your example, I 
may love crucifixion of body and of heart ! O holy cross ! 
remain as a chain of love, and as a sure rampart on my 
breast. 



MEDITATION XXVII. 

ON OUR SAVIOUR'S RESURRECTION. 

First Point. 

Consider that after a deluge of sorrow, of torments, 
and of anguish had gone over our Saviour, He rcse from 
the tomb by His own power ; He came forth by His own 
might, and went very early in the morning to visit His holy 
Mother, beautiful, shining subtile, agile, and all glorious. 
O Mother most holy, rejoice ! Behold your dear Jesus more 
triumphant than ever; behold this temple which the Jews 
had destroyed raised up again ; behold the sign of Jonas 
oome to pass ; behold your dear Jesus alive ! 



ON OUR SAVIOUR'S RESURRECTION. 405 

Second Point. 

Consider that there was, great joy in the ark of Noah, 
when the dove returned bringing the olive branch, as a 
sign that the water had abated, and that God had given 
the blessing of His peace. But, O God ! with what glad- 
ness was the company of the apostles ravished, when they 
saw once more among them the holy Humanity of our 
Saviour raised to life again, and glorious, carrying in His 
mouth the olive branch of a holy and acceptable peace. 
"Pax vobis," said He ; ah ! this is the certain sign that 
the waters of the Father's wrath had subsided ; this is the 
sign of the reconciliation of man with God. 

Third Point. 

Consider how needful it was that the kind Saviour should 
go and visit His disciples. Their faith, their hope, their 
charity were all wavering ; Magdalen was even going to 
seek Him to embalm Him. The disciples of Emmaus said : 
" We hoped ;" and the rest of the the company accounted 
the words of the holy woman as a dream. This is the reason 
why our good Saviour, fearing their peril, like a good 
Master, came to strengthen them. "It is I, Myself, My 
dear disciples : see My hands, and My feet, and the 
wound in My side." 

First Affection. 

O holy and faithful Virgin ! how sweet to thy mater- 
nal heart has been this happy news : thy Son is living ! O 
holy daughters of Sion ! wipe away your tears, behold your 
Beloved is -come ! As you have drunk the cup of his sor- 
rows, He will, therefore, give to you, as to His Benjamin, 
the first and the greatest part of His joy in glory ! My 
soul, revere in silence. this triumphant Son of this consoled 
Mother. 

Second Affection. 

Ah ! my sweet Jesus, if all within me were recollected, 
and anxious for Thy coming, Thou wouldst do me the 
grace of bringing to me these sweet words : " Peace be 



406 0tf THE ASCENSIOfr OF OUR LORD. 

with you !" O my heart ! if we had once received the 
peace of Jesus, ah ! the world would never be able to 
trouble us. Holy peace, sung by the angels at our Savi- 
our's birth, and given by Himself at His resurrection, ah ! 
be forever in my heart ! It is now, that I believe in 
earnest that my Redeemer liveth, and on the last day I 
shall rise out of the earth. 

From this, I ought to draw the unvarying resolution : 
not to profane this body by evil. Nor will I flatter it, be- 
cause it is to perish ; but I will preserve it, as it will rise 
again in glory. Since my eyes are to see the Saviour eter- 
nally, ah ! I will withdraw them from all useless and vain 
objects. Since I am to receive the kiss of the mouth of 
this glorious Bridegroom, I will not allow my lips to utter 
indevout discourses, irreligious or angry words, murmur- 
ings, excuses, or any other defect of my senses. 

Third Affection. 

Come, my Beloved, strengthen nrv faith, for it honors 
Thy Father, by resting upon His power ; my hope, for it 
is founded on Thy redemption ; my charity, because it em- 
braces the goodness of the Holy Ghost. Ah ! dear Lover, 
what wilt Thou say showing Thy wounds, unless it be 
this : Have you need of strength? See here My hands. 
Have you need of heart? Behold Mine. Are you a little 
dove? Behold the hole of the corner-stone, and rest 
therein. Ah ! Lord, I have need of all these ; and also 
I am sick and a captive, but I go to Thee and there I find 
my medicine and my redemption. 



MEDITATION XXVIII. 

ON THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD. 

First Point 

Consider that the most holy Virgin, on the day of her 
Son's Ascension, could not, doubtless, keep from saying 
to Him this verse from the canticle of love : %l Flee away, 



ON THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD. 407 

my Beloved, and be like to the roe, and to the young hart 
upon the mountains of aromatical spices." 

Second Point. 

See all this holy assembly on the Mountain of Olives. 
The glorious Lord blesses them all ; then, in the chariot of 
His own power and might, He ascends gloriously to heaven. 
Oh ! said the holy Virgin, see how fair is m} T Beloved ! 
Oh i how holy is this Cross, which He carries as a token 
of victory ! It is of incorruptible wood ; the Lord has 
crowned this Conqueror with the glory of His Resurrection 
and Ascension, and all the world shall be in rapture to 
praise Him. 

Third Point. 

Whilst this noble company kept their eyes fixed on 
the gracious Jesus, as He ascended on high a cloud 
removed Him from their sight. Still they ceased not 
to look, until some Angels, servants of their King, said 
to them : " Why stand ye looking up to heaven? This 
Jesus, Who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so 
come as you have seen Him, going into heaven," to judge 
the living and the dead. Then, this holy company returns 
to Jerusalem, whilst the victorious Prince, Who led cap- 
tivity captive, went and sat down at the right hand of 
His Father, and made His good servants be seated in 
the seats which Lucifer and his angels had left vacant. 
O God! what favor to men, what happiness to angels, 
what joy amid the heavenly Jerusalem ! 

First Affection. 

O most holy Lover ! Who invitest thy Beloved to depart, 
how stripped wert thou of all self-interest ! The other 
daughters of Sion call Him with loud cries, and pray Him 
not to leave them. But thou, O only dove ! thou seekest 
the glory of thy Son, and therein is thy joy and thy hap- 
piness ! Yes, my Lord, flee away to the eternal hills, but 
turn on us every moment thy holy and gentle looks. 



408 ON TEE DESCENT OF TITE HOLT GHOST. 

Second Affection. 

Alas ! says St. Augustine, " O Lord ! how I sigh, at not 
having been present on this Mount of Olives, to kiss the 
marks of the nails, and water with the sweet tears of my 
joy the wounds of Thy precious body ! Ah ! my Jesus, I 
was absent, and even very far off, when Thou didst enter 
paradise. Thou didst bless Thy disciples, with Thy hands 
raised to heaven, and I was not there : the angels consoled 
them, and I heard nothing thereof- What shall I then do? 
Whither shall I go to seek Thee? No, there is no more 
joy in my heart ; my soul refuses to be comforted, except by 
Thee, O my ineffable sweetness." Let, then, my conver- 
sation be in heaven, where my Jesus is in His Glory. 

Third Affection. 

O angels of peace ! blame me not if I keep my eyes 
ever on high ; for where my Jesus is, there is m} 7 treasure. 
Still, you teach me that I must be prompt to do what the 
Beloved commands, when He sends His disciples back to 
Jerusalem, where they were ordered to go and wait for 
the Paraclete. O holy company delivered from Limbo, 
and placed by my Jesus in His glory, remember, after the 
example of Elias, to let your mantle fall on your servant ; 
let the mantle of faith and the veil of hope fall on my 
poor soul, for you have need but of the robe of charity ! 



MEDITATION XXIX. 

ON THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 

First Point. 

Devout souls, enter humbly the upper chamber, where 
the glorious Virgin, the holy Apostles, the blessed dis- 
ciples, and the holy women are all assembled in prayer, in 
repose, in faith, in hope, waiting for their good Master 
to accomplish His promise, and clothe them all with the 



ON THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 409 

power from on high. In like manner retire apart from all, 
to receive this perfect gift from the Father of lights : for 
God will never display His marvels in yon, if He find you 
not in a hoty interior retreat, having nothing to do with 
worldlings. See you not that all this company is in Jeru- 
salem, but apart and withdrawn, and as in a desert? 

Second Point. 

Ten days after our Saviour had ascended on high, and 
His beloved disciples had been prepared by silence, 
brotherly intercourse, and prayer, there came a sound 
from heaven as of a mighty wind blowing, which filled 
all the house where they were seated, and there appeared 
to them as it were tongues of fire, which sat upon each of 
them. Ah ! this is the day when God gives His gifts ; we 
must only wait to receive. 

Third Point. 

Consider how much the Eternal Father has loved the 
holy Church, since He has enriched her with His own 
treasures. Not content with having given her His Son and 
His image, He gives her also His Holy Spirit, in order 
that just as the Holy Ghost overshadowed the holy Virgin, 
of whose pure blood Jesus was to be born, that He might be 
the Father of the Church, so the Holy Ghost descended to 
set on fire this holy Church, which was newly born of the 
blood of Jesus Christ. 

First Affection. 

Ah ! who will give me the grace to keep myself in inte- 
rior repose, far from all the distractions of the world, that 
I may, in silence, wait for the coming of the Holy Ghost ! 
O most holy Virgin ! O glorious Apostles ! obtain for me 
a share in your devotion, so that I may persevere in 
prayer ; that if the Lord should tarry in coming, I may 
bear this delay. I know, O my God ! that Thou wilt 
not leave me an orphan, but that if I persevere in obeying 
Thee, Thou wilt send me the Spirit of Truth. 



416 ON THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 

Second Affection. 

Come, Holy Ghost, enkindle in our hearts the fire of 
Thy love : come, Father of the poor, come, Giver of gifts, 
Light of hearts. Ah ! gentle Jesus ! when Thou wouldst 
begin to publish Thy law, Thou didst send on Thy dis- 
ciples many tongues of fire, therebj T plainly showing that 
the preaching of the Gospel was designed to set all hearts 
on fire with celestial love. Ah ! Holy Spirit ! in bringing 
so many fires on earth, what wilt Thou, but that they burn ? 
I entreat Thee, once more, fill my heart with the fire of 
Thy charity, with that charity, which suffers all things, 
which believes all things, which dealeth not perversely ! 

Third Affection. 

O holy Church of the living God ! how rich Thou art ! 
the Holy Ghost fills all the blessed laborers, He changes 
them all into fire, into love, and into zeal. They are all 
inebriated with the wine of the Spouse, and so disgusted 
with earthly things, that they account themselves, thence- 
forth, happy to be in afflictions, persecutions, and in a 
state of death for their dear Jesus. O holy Spirit ! if I 
received Thee without resistance, doubtless I should ex- 
perience within me striking effects ; I should speak only 
of the marvels of God ; I should seek only his glory and 
my own contempt ; I should esteem myself happy in suffer- 
ing reproaches for the name of the Lord. 



MEDITATION XXX. 

ON THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 

First Point. 

Consider that heaven and earth are full of the majesty 
of God, Who is all and everywhere, by essence, presence, 
and power. Ah ! how we fall into forgetfulness of a 
truth so infallible and so sweet ! Ah ! said Moses, in 



Otf ffiE PRESENCE OF GOD. 4 11 

order to encourage his people, there is no other nation so 
great, that hath gods so nigh them, as our God is present 
to all our petitions. 

Second Point. 

Consider, that attention to the divine presence is an 
eminent means of advancing to perfection. Therefore, it 
was one of the first precepts, that God gave to His servant, 
Abraham: u Walk before Me, and be perfect." Ah! 
Lord, what else hast Thou said to me by placing me in 
this holy monastery, but: ' k My daughter, walk always in 
My presence, and thou shalt arrive at perfection : think 
on Me in all thy ways, and I will direct thy steps?" 

Third Point. 

Consider into what abuse and wretchedness the soul 
falls that becomes forgetful of this divine presence. 
The two old men of Babylon turned aside their eyes from 
heaven, that they might not be reminded of their sins. 
You are mad, says David, if you say : " The Lord shall 
not see : neither shall the God of Jacob understand ;" for 
His eyes are open all over the face of the earth. He sees 
and contemplates all that is done therein ; He fathoms the 
hearts, He foresees thoughts ; nothing escapes Him, His 
eye observes all. 

First Affection. 

O my sweet Jesus, my Lord and my God ! I know 
that if I go up to heaven, Thou art there ; if I go 
down into hell, I find Thee there ; if my spirit flies to the 
uttermost parts of the sea, and if it goes down into the 
depths, there I meet Thee. Ah ! why, then, shall I not serve 
Thee everywhere, why shall I not pray to Thee in ever} 7 
place, since in every place, my Beloved, Thou nearest me? 
O sovereign King ! how happy are they that are Thine ! Thou 
givest them audience at all hours ; oh ! that I may have 
the grace, in all things and in all places, to forget myself b} 7 
continually remembering Thee, Who art more present to me 
than I am to myself ! The farther I go away from my- 
self, the nearer do I draw to Thee. 



412 ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 

Second Affection. 

Alas ! what disorder is this? I am called to walk be- 
fore the Lord and be perfect, and I do the very contrary, 
walk after my appetites, and pursue my own will and 
self-love ; thus, I bring to naught all perfection. Ah ! my 
soul, we must, henceforth, in all our actions regard Him 
Who sitteth at the right hand of the Father, absent to our 
senses, but present to the heart wherein it is His will to 
reign, as well as in heaven ! 

TJdrd Affection. 

thankless and foolish Spouse, dare you indeed turn 
away wilfully from your Beloved, to taste the pitiful 
pleasures of earth? Ah ! it is in His presence, and in His 
very sight that you are wanting in fidelity ; nothing can be 
hidden from this all-seeing Eye. O God ! Who fathomest 
the hearts, may all my thoughts and my desires be directed 
to thee ! 



MEDITATION XXXI. 

ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 

First Point. 

Consider that the love God bears us is so great, that He 
employs His wisdom, His power and His goodness to lead 
us to our end by means which are most suitable and pro- 
portioned to us, and His divine Providence watches, not 
only over the most important things which concern us and 
our salvation, but over all the smallest things of our lives. 
Not a hair of our head falls without His Providence ; 
He even knows their number, and neither men nor devils 
would dare to touch one of them without His order. 

Second Point. 

Consider that the Holy scripture tells us that this divine 
Providence does all things for us with weight, number, and 
measure ; now see what an obligation you have to abandon 



ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 413 

the care of yourself. Let us then never look at the things 
which happen us, good or evil, in themselves ; for either 
they would puff us up, or they would trouble us and over- 
whelm us with tribulations. But let us see in all, the Provi- 
dence of our good God, Who, with incomprehensible love, 
employs all His wisdom, power and goodness in the guid- 
ance of so tiny a creature, to make it attain to its happy 
end. 

Third Point. 

See how much God feels offended when we take ourselves 
out of the hands of His sweet Providence, being minded 
to guide ourselves according to our fancy. Oh ! how ill he 
took it in the children of Israel, that they had committed 
this fault ; for, departing from His gentle Providence, they 
would have a king to lead them, and were made miserable. 

First Affection. 

O Eternal Father ! Thy Providence governs all things, 
and truly, it is a strange thing, that when we are daughters 
of such a Father, Who watches over us With such a wake- 
ful eye, we can have any other anxiety than to love and 
serve Him ! Ah ! said our holy Founder, my soul has no 
other appointment but to meet this holy Providence of God. 

O my God ! Thou hast taught me from my youth up- 
wards, and I will ever make known Thy wonders ! 

Second Affection. 

O supreme Wisdom, Power, and Goodness ! I adore You, 
You, Who take such loving care of all the moments of my 
life. O religious souls ! our true morrow is Divine Provi- 
dence. Consider the lilies of the field, they neither sow nor 
spin, and the Divine Providence of the heavenly Father 
clothes them better than Solomon in all his glory. Ah ! my 
God, how I wish, henceforth, to hold in great honor what- 
ever shall happen to me ! No, I will never say that I have 
too many afflictions, mortifications, and pains, for Thou 
hast weighed them, and the strength Thou wilt give me. 
Neither will I say that they are too long, for Thou hast 
taken their measure. 



414 ON THE WILL OF GOD. 

Third Affection. 

Therefore, my Lord, I will trouble myself no more, but 
let myself be guided by Thee. The shepherd who guides 
me is the Lord all-powerful ; nothing shall ever be lacking 
to me. No, never will I interfere with myself, I will leave 
the care thereof to Him. Let Him choose the place of m}' 
abode, my employment, my consolation, my pains, my 
health, my sickness, my death, my salvation. I will only 
rely on following His guidance and on leaving Him abso- 
lute Master. 



MEDITATION XXXII. 

ON THE WILL OF GOD. 

First Point. 

Consider that our sanctification being in the will of 
God, we must not doubt that all our perfection and all our 
good are in the same will. Ah ! how happy and peaceful 
will be the heart, which, by holy love and entire submiss- 
ion, shall experience in all things that the divine will is 
good, pleasant and perfect ! 

Second Point. 

Consider that this will of God is the sovereign queen 
of the universe. Nothing is done but in obedience to it ; 
it orders everything, except sin. and we should make it a 
duty to see everything contained in this divine will, with- 
out the existence or possibility of any other cause. Oh ! 
how happy would religious souls be if they regarded all in 
this blessed origin, and if they received all as coming from 
this holy will. In all it ought to seem to :is that we hear 
these words of Habacuc to the prophet Daniel:" Take 
what God hath sent thee." 

Third Affection. 
Consider that the eternal Son of God came to teach 



ON THE WILL OF GOD. 415 

us the submission and reverence due to the supreme will, 
in that He says He came not to do His own will, but 
that of His Father. He also teaches us this same sub- 
mission and reverence. "Father, if it be possible, let this 
chalice pass from Me, but } r et not My will but Thnie be 
done." Again, this divine Master teaches us to ask 
daily that the will of God may be done on earth as it 
is in heaven ; and in fine, He concludes the course of 
His mortal life, by the giving up by His resignation 
of Himself to the will of His eternal Father: "Father, 
into Thy hands, I commend my spirit." 

First Affection. 

O most holy and divine will of my God ! since the char- 
acter and infallible mark of the true daughters of my holy 
Congregation is to see thee and to follow thee in all things, 
I will in earnest undertake this holy exercise. But, O holy 
will ! how shall I know thee, so as to follow thee? for it is 
extremely good for me to adhere to thee. O Jesus, I see 
Thy wishes in Thy commandments. If I keep them I 
shall be loved by Thee and Thy Father. I know Thy will 
in m} r rules, my vows and observances, and, therefore, I 
will observe them carefully ; for it is said : " Pay thy vows 
to the Most High." I know it by the voice of my 
superiors ; for it is written : " Let every soul be subject to 
higher powers !" and again : " he that heareth you heareth 
Me." I shall know it by the just wishes of my neighbor : 
" As you would that man should do to you, do you also to 
them in like manner." In a word, as I see this divine will 
in all, I will honor it, with the help of grace, and will 
follow it in all things. 

Second Affection. 

Ah self-will ! it is time to die to yourself, for I will no 
more live but in the will of my God ; this, I will follow as 
my princess and mistress. Let it be written in large letters 
at the commencement of the book of my soul. My own 
judgment, it is not your business any more to discern, 
discuss, see ; it is enough for you to submit to follow the 



416 CONCLUSION OF THE RETREAT. 

disposal of your God. ray God ! lead me as Thou wilt, 
make ine pass through cold, heat, light, darkness, through 
employment, through repose. Though Thou wert to bring 
me to the very gates of death, I will not fear under Thy 
guidance. 

Third Affection. 

Yes, my heavenly Father, Thy will be done on earth, 
where consolations are rare and toils innumerable. Take 
for daily practice, O my soul ! when anything shall put 
you out, to say : not my will, but that of my God be 
accomplished. 



MEDITATION XXXIII. 

ON PRIVATIONS. — CONCLUSION OF THE RETREAT. 

First Point, 

Consider what grace God has given you in this retreat, 
in having sent you many motions and lights for your 
good, which are all to end in the single point of the total 
putting off of yourself, so that you may be able hencefor- 
ward to say effectually and in truth : "Naked came I out 
of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither ; 
the Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away, blessed be His 
holy name." 

Second Point. 

Consider the happy state into which this true privation 
of all things puts the soul, namely, that she wishes 
for her Jesus alone. It is the glory of this Suuamite, 
that she can be alone with her King, and say: "My 
beloved to me, and I to Him." In this way we keep our 
affections so naked, and so simply united to God, that 
nothing attaches itself to us, and we attach ourselves to 
nothing. 

Third Point. 

Consider what wrong you will do your soul, if you clothe 
it with anything whatsoever ; because if our Lord found 



CONCLUSION OF THE RETREAT. 417 

you in the lovely and holy nakedness of the children of 
God, He would take you into His aims, as He took St. 
Martial, to carry you to the highest perfection of His love. 
Blessed, therefore, are they who are stripped of all things, 
for our Lord will clothe them again, and will clothe them 
with Himself. 

First A feet ion. 

O Lord, behold a poor, wretched and tiny creature 
before the throne of Thy divine mercy, entreating Thy T 
sole goodness to accept its small, but great renunciations. 
Tear a.way boldly everything which clothes my heart ! O 
Lord, I except nothing, tear off myself from myself : 
yes, self of mine, I take lea^e of you for ever, I will 
never take you back again, if my Lord give me not an 
express command. O desires ! O affections ! O creatures ! 
O all things ! I strip myself entirely of you. 

Second Affection. 

O sweetest Jesus ! Who didst come naked into the 
world, and didst die naked on the cross, what lesson hast 
Thou given me, unless to live stripped of all things, and 
to sing without ceasing in heart and in works : Hail Jesus, 
destitute of father and mother on t»he cross, hail Thou most 
holy destitution ; hail Mary deprived of Thy son at the 
foot of the cross, hail Thou most holy destitution ! Yes, 
Lord Jesus, may my heart remain unclothed of all, even 
of the most spiritual goods, that Thou mayest be solely 
and simply all things to my heart ! 

Third Affection. 

Therefore, my soul, go, henceforth, like another Isaias, 
through the way of this world stripped of everything, and as 
soon as you feel your heart wish to put on any garment 
whatsoever, throw it at the feet of Jesus, and there renew 
the general and particular' resolutions of your retreat, to 
the end that being only clothed with Jesus Christ, you 
may live, henceforth, in newness of life. Amen. 
D. S. B. 
27 



SELECTIONS 



FBOM THE 



CONFERENCES 



SAINT JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL. 



ON RETREAT AND THE ANNUAL CONFESSION. 421 

FIRST DAY. 

CONFERENCE LI. 

On Retreat and the Annual Confession, 

The Sisters should enter upon the exercises of the Retreat 
less for the enjoyment of spiritual sweetness than for con- 
fusion, on account of their past faults and negligences, and 
that they may gain new strength to advance in the way of 
our Lord. 

On the eve, of the day, on which they are to enter retreat, 
they should think most seriously of making it, as if for the 
last time. Among all the counsels proper for the Sisters, 
that of making the exercises without any hurry or effort of 
mind is one of the most useful. Let them, therefore, 
prepare themselves with great peace and tranquillity, to 
receive the lights and movements of God, and learn what 
He will have of them, for on that depends all their happi- 
ness, and not on an effort of mind. 

I do not say, that there is no need of working, but let it be 
simply and quietly. We must not trouble ourselves to 
get rid of all our imperfections, so much as to acquire and 
establish in our heart solid virtues, profound humility, 
respect for God's presence, etc. We must not put 
ourselves out very much about confession; but make our 
examination very quietly, after having invoked God and 
asked for His grace. For myself, I always follow the 
method of our Blessed Father : to see how I have behaved 
towards God, towards myself, and towards my neighbor. 
First, towards God : I examine myself on the vows and 
spiritual exercises, then on the office ; for that regards 
God principally. Secondly, towards myself: on my 
impatience and want of condescension, for it is I who do 
these things ; as also, on the little submission I have shown 
to divine Providence, when it ordains, or permits events 
which are contrary to my inclinations, or my own judg- 
ment. Thirdly, towards my neighbor: if I have 
served and relieved him, when I could and ought, and 
again, if I have not borne with him in his moods 
contrary to mine. 



422 ON RETREAT AND THE ANNUAL CONFESSION 

To make a good confession, we have only to place our 
conscience before God, with humility, sincerity and a firm 
purpose of amendment, and with contrition for our sins. 
Then our conscience comes before us, like a book, to show 
us all we have done. As for knowing whether oiu heart 
is bitter against any one, we must give heed, if we have 
the will to hurt him ; for bitterness is not a sin in itself, 
even though I may feel my heart quite full, and my blood 
boiling with anger. If, in spite of that, I make an act of 
virtue in regard of the person ; or, if feeling sorry for 
some good which has happened to him, or glad of some ill, 
I make an act contrary to my feeling, I must remain in 
peace. 

But I know well whence this bitterness comes : from 
our not being willing to lay up in our heart the love of 
contempt and dishonor. The least word humiliates us ; our 
hearts are embittered which would not be if we loved 
contempt. If we were upright and sincere, I mean virtue- 
loving, and were not vain and proud, involuntary faults 
of frailty would do us no great harm ; for those faults we 
commit from hastiness are not very hurtful, provided that 
we faithfully humble ourselves for them. 

Another time the Saint said to the Sisters who were 
going into Retreat. 

Sisters seek God in the simplicity of your hearts, with 
humility and truth, and not yourselves, nor your own 
satisfaction, for it is thus He wills to be sought. The 
Prophet said : * Do good and hope in God :' so that, my 
very dear sisters, we must do good, to be able to hope for 
good. This point of doing good and rendering our obli- 
gations to God, must needs go before, otherwise, our hope 
is without foundation ; for God, Who has indeed made us 
without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves. 
All the saints, and those who have made and who make 
profession of perfection, are, indeed ver}' much in earnest, 
because they know that God will be served earnestly. But 
we, poor creatures that we are, easily throw ourselves 
into outward things, and amuse ourselves in trifles, there 
where we ought to see the sole will of God. 



ON THE PttlNCtPAt FRUIT OF RETREAT. 423 

O ! bow happy would a soul be, that undertook indeed 
to look to and follow in all things this divine will ! It 
would enjoy a profound peace in its resignation, because 
in everything it would find this divine will, and would love 
it. God give us this grace. Amen. 



SECOND DAY. 

CONFERENCE LII. 

On the principal fruit the Retreat ought to produce, namely, 
to make us perform our spiritual exercises with greater 
attention to God. 

Oh ! how sweet is the life wherein we have only to speak 
to God, and to keep near Him ! We ought to profit 
greatly by the grace given us in religion, where a certain 
time, and number of days are appointed us, during which 
we have nothing to do but to think of this supreme good- 
ness and of ourselves. 

What you ought principally to try to bring away from 
your retreat, my dear Daughters, is to do all your actions, 
particularly your spiritual exercises, with great attention 
to God, and to engrave deeply in your minds, that in what- 
ever place you may be, God sees you much better than I see 
my hand, now while I am looking at it. He sees and 
pierces all which is at the bottom of the creature's heart, 
even to the least thought ; He know sit much better than it 
can know itself. If we indeed engraved these truths of 
faith in our hearts and minds, it would help us greatly to 
do our actions well, in great fear and abasement of our- 
selves, before this high Majesty. 

If any one speaking to a great Lord, is very careful to 
do so with respect, how much more, when we speak to 
God, ought we to keep ourselves in profound reverence, 
particularly at the divine Office, and when we say vocal 
prayers ! How many times do we say them with the 
mouth, our hearts being far away from what we are saying, 
especially the prayers, which are all, or nearly all, ad- 



424 ON THE PRINCIPAL FRUIT OF THE RETREAT. 

dressed to the eternal Father, of Whom we ask graces and 
favors, by the merits of His Son, or through the inter- 
cession of the Blessed Virgin ? How do we say the anti- 
phons and hymns, which are all so worthy of respect, 
and especially the Pater, Ave and Credo, which are the 
most beautiful prayers we can make? Our Lord has 
commanded us to say the Pater, and has Himself taught 
us the way to pray, when He said to His Apostles ; " When 
thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut 
the door, pray to Thy Father in secret, and Thy Father, 
Who seeth in secret, will repay Thee." 

That shows us how we are to retire within eur hearts. 
In other places He says : " Do not as the hypocrites, who 
with their mouth make long prayers, but their hearts are 
far from Me ; but enter into thy closet, and when thou 
dost pray to Thy heavenly Father, say : Our Father, Who 
art in heaven, etc." 

In a word, my dear Sisters, we must be very careful to 
bear a holy reverence to the Almighty, Who is present, 
especially at the beginning of our prayers and meditations. 
To put ourselves in this divine presence, and to fathom 
this truth ; that it is God to Whom we are speaking, and 
Who sees us ; this is the art of arts. Indeed, my dear 
daughters, we must do like that good knight, who, not 
Knowing when death might take him, expected it every- 
where, that it might find him always ready. You see, we 
must expect it everywhere, and get ready for it by a lively 
attention to this Omnipresence. It is related in so many 
different places of Holy Scripture, that our Lord said : 
" Blessed is that servant, whom, when his Lord shall come, 
he shall (jud so doing." And in other places : " Watch ye 
therefore, because you know not at what hour your Lord 
will come." Sometimes, He will come at the morning hour, 
sometimes, at noon, sometimes, in the evening. 

I know not the meaning of these hours ; but I think they 
are to make us feel that we must be ready everywhere, 
because we know not the hour when we shall die, but 
only the certainty that we must die. 



ON EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR SELF- ABASEMENT. 425 

THIRD DAY. 

CONFERENCE LXIII. 

On the Necessity and the Advantages of Exterior and 
Interior Self- Abasement. 

My dear Daughters, since you wish it, I will say a few 
words to you about self-abasement, and with reason, since 
we are now drawing near the end of the year. 

Our Blessed Father has wisely instituted that there 
should be changes, to show us that we must strip ourselves 
not only of exterior but also of interior things. It is 
unworthy of a religious soul to become attached to any- 
thing but God, or to place her affections elsewhere. 

It is no great matter, it would seem, to be a little at- 
tached to pictures, to a rosary, to a cross, to a cell, to a 
charge. Nevertheless, we must not be so, for that would 
be an obstacle to our perfection, and we would be acting 
contrary to the perfection of our vow of holy poverty, and 
against the spirit of our Institute, which shows us clearly 
that we may not even attach ourselves to those things 
which are given *or our use, since it is ordered that these 
shall be changed amongst us. Hut, to be attached to our own 
will, to our judgment and our opinion, to our own esteem, 
to our interests and satisfactions, and to wish to be loved, 
oh ! how much more dangerous and hurtful to our advance- 
ment is this, and how much more difficult to discover*and 
uproot ! 

Now, I wish to give you only two practices of despoili- 
ation, that your mind may not be over burdened; these 
aie humility and meekness. We must despoil ourselves of 
vanity, and of the good opinion we have of ourselves. 

Oh ! what reason we have to abase ourselves, to 
hold ourselves in low esteem, and to have no self-compla- 
cency. Let us then keep ourselves little and low in the eyes 
of our Lord, of creatures, and of ourselves ; for in fact, 
we abase and humble ourselves so little, that it is 
pitiable ! We have too good an opinion of ourselves, for 
which reason, let us learn to know ourselves, and hold our- 



426 ON EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR SELF-ABASEMENT. 

selves simply for what we are. Otherwise our nffairs will 
not succeed, and we will not possess the spirit of the Insti- 
tute. Let us then be such, I entreat you, my dear Sisters, 
that only humility may be seen to breathe in our words, in 
our actions and behavior, and that this virtue may 
become more conspicuous in us. 

Meekness, according to our Blessed Father's idea 
will make us despoil ourselves of our inclinations and 
passions, and will render us gracious towards our neighbor, 
and tranquil in ourselves, not fretting over our imperfect- 
ions, not giving way to any dryness and hardness of heart, 
whatever may befall us. I wish you this cordiality and 
this gentleness. 

If our holy Founder had not made it, the subject of a 
conference I would speak of it at greater length, so 
great is my desire to see it reign among us. True sweet- 
ness and affection is nothing else than a love of the heart 
which makes us take to ourselves, by compassion, all the 
trials, sufferings, and defects of our sisters, to suffer with 
them in heart. This affection ought to be so great be- 
tween us, that if a sister asked us for a piece of our heart, 
we would give to her, if it were in our power. 

Oh ! how very far are we from having such feelings, for 
we do not even give them freely and graciously a chafing 
dish, a saucepan, a basket, a handkerchief or the like; 
and yet the sister has as much right as we have, to what 
she asks us to lend her. 

Now, I know well, that as long as we live, we shall con- 
tinually commit failings, nor am 1 astonished thereat. But 
by alwa} r s committing the same, we show that we are not 
working with sufficient fidelity at growing better. For, as 
soon as we become aware of certain imperfections in us, 
I we ought so to bend our efforts on that side, that we may 
free ourselves of them, because when these imperfections 
are corrected, others will spring up, and thus we have work 
enough, and our Lord is wont to leave us this, to keep us in 
humility. But, let us take great courage, and when we 
have committed certain faults, let us not be afraid to kneel 
down, to ask pardon of the sister towards whom we 
have failed, and we shall sufficiently repair our fault 
before God and before creatures. And, I entreat you, 






ON EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR SELF- A BASEMENT. 427 

let this practice never be neglected, for it ought to be 
particularl}' esteemed by us, since it has been advised and 
recommended to us by our blessed Father. 

One of the most sensible griefs which can effect our 
heart at the hour of death is the thought that we have 
not lived well, nor profited by the admonitions and 
corrections which have been given us, nor by the instruc- 
tions we have received. Yes, we shall have many a regret 
at that moment, and I can assure you that this will be one 
of the most poignant, for we shall see, indeed, that it will 
have been the cause of the little advancement we have 
made. Now, let us, therefore, take heed to ourselves, and 
do good while we have time. We owe this to God and to 
our perfection, striving to render our souls pure and well- 
pleasing to His divine majesty. We are strictly obliged 
to this by the duty of our vocation, as also to increase the 
the accidental glory of our blessed Father. As for me, 
I am not worthy to be considered ; but still I know that 
the filial love you bear me, my dear daughters, leads you 
to desire my consolations. 

And, indeed, I have no greater in this world, than to 
see my sisters doing their duty and going on to perfection. 
And, in like manner, my greatest affliction would be to see 
any of them indifferent and neglectful, and not laboring 
for their advancement ; so that what afflicts me or comforts 
me in this world is the good or evil of our sisters, for the 
maternal love T bear them makes me desire their happiness 
and spiritual profit. As for me, T am the most faulty of 
all ; but, thanks to God, I sin not of deliberate purpose. 
I hope that if you pray much for me I shall rise above my 
wretchedness, and shall do my duty much better for the 
future. I know that you all do the same, and that not 
with reflection. Let us pray much for each other ; not only 
for those with whom we live, but also for all those of the 
Institute, for it is my ardent wish that all our monasteries 
should have but one heart and one soul in God. 



428 ON THE QUALITIES OF TRUE ZEAL. 

FOURTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE III. 

Oa the Qualities of True Zeal, and on the Foundation 
of Solid Virtue. 

My dear sisters, I am very glad that you ask me this 
question ; how are the professed sisters to be zealous in 
obtaining and holding the spirit of their vocation, and 
how are they to serve as good examples? I answer 
you, by assuring you, that it is a very important 
question. The sisters are most certainly to foster in 
their hearts an ardent zeal to edify each other, and all those 
with whom they live, and they are to be most careful to 
drink in the spirit of their Institute, to work that those 
who follow them may also imbibe of it. But this zeal is 
not to be punctilious, importunate, or impatient; even 
those in charge must not be too hard upon them. The zeal 
of our Blessed Father was not of this kind. It was a zeal 
which made Him pray, give good example, incite, encour- 
age, and bear with souls. He did not hurry them, but 
waited long for them with admirable patience and gentle- 
ness. He helped them with all his power, not grudging 
his trouble, not sparing his charity, and leaving all to 
God's Providence. We must not go in search of other 
doctrines than that of the blessed Father of our souls in 
order to exercise our zeal. This, then, is what we must 
do : we must have recourse to prayer, help, support, and 
give good example to our Sisters ; those who are in charge, 
by their advice and instructions, and the others by their 
conversalion, and by encouraging each other. 

In what, sisters ! in what are we to take pleasure, if not in 
speaking of God, of eternity, of the happiness of our vo- 
cation, of the love and fidelity we are to have for the 
spirit of our holy Institute, and in carefully preserving 
it. Our conversation ought not to be of aught else. When 
we have permission to CQnverse together in private, let 
us be of great observance. Let us try to give good ex- 
ample. We cannot tell the good which a really edifying 
person does in a religious house. But let all that we do 



ON THE QUALITIES OF TRUE ZEAL. 429 

for edification, be done with the sole desire of pleasing God, 
and for the sole motive of His love ; and let that love alone 
animate our zeal. 

Now, my dear daughters, I must give you three founda- 
tions upon which to establish our zeal and virtue, that it 
may be solid. The first is to be wholly dependent on the 
fatherly care of our good God and of our superiors, with- 
out having any care for ourselves. No, think not of what 
you shall do, and of what shall happen to you ; give up all 
your soul, ycur mind, your body, and even the care of 
your perfection, into the hands of divine Providence, and 
of obedience. For our Lord will have care enough, and He 
has more love and care for us than the fondest Mother 
has to nourish and bring up her child. Yes, certainly, 
my dear sisters, God thinks more in detail of our neces- 
sities, however small and trifling, has more care for them 
than a tender mother and nurse for her little one whom she 
dearly loves. Know, therefore, that the measure of God's 
Providence over us, is the measure of the confidence we have 
in Him, and that His care is so much the more complete, as 
our self-surrender into His holy hands is more perfect and 
entire. I wish not that you should grow weary in laboring 
faithfully for your perfection. But I tell you only, that the 
ways and means of reaching it are to be indifferent to you. 
Let yourselves, therefore, be turned, moulded, and fashioned 
wholly according to the eternal good pleasure, by the way 
to obedience, not permitting your mind to discern what is 
proper for you or not, nor to think : " shall I, indeed, be able 
to take this charge?" nor, " I could do the other better ; I 
should get on better with this sister who has more 
affinity with my turn of mind, than with that one." 

Let all these distractions alone, in order to give 
yourself up unceasingly to the guidance of Our Lord. 

The second point is, that we must seek God alone, wish 
for God alone, tend to God alone. Ah ! if you only seek 
God, you will find Him everywhere. For example, one of 
you is going to her prayer, obedience takes her off imme- 
diately to some other employment : without fail, she will 
find God as much in this occupation, as in her prayers. I 
grant you, that, perhaps, it will be with less satisfaction and 
sweet repose ; but know that God is found better, where 



430 ON THE QUALITIES OF TRUE ZEAL. 

there is more self-denial than pleasure for us. If you seek 
only God, sisters, you will be indifferent about your em- 
ployments, your charges, your abode, and all that concerns 
you, inasmuch as you will find everywhere, the good and 
great God of your heart, since He is never better found 
than in obedience. It is in this divine indifference that we 
find inclosed the teaching of our blessed Father. " Ask for 
nothing, and refuse nothing :" this is the last injunction he 
gave us. It contains all the rest together, since, by practis- 
ing it, we find humility, meekness, simplicity and mortifi- 
cation perfectly combined. But, more than all virtues, this 
teaching contains furthur, perfect dependance on God's 
good pleasure, and the complete perfection contained in 
our holy Rules and Constitutions. The Saint wished us 
to be faithful to this practice ; and this, too, is my sole 
desire for you, ray dear daughters. As I know that 
there is nothing more perfect than this very practice, I 
honor and prize it immensely, remembering the zeal with 
which our blessed Father specially recommended it to us, 
three years before his death, when he had so frequently in 
his mouth, these words : " Ask for nothing, and refuse noth- 
ing, my daughters." Oh ! what great tranquillity they 
have, who practice well this teaching, because it leads 
promptly and without fail to the highest and most sublime 
perfection. 

You ask, must not we then ask for what we require ? 
Pardon me, sisters, you must ask simply, and with confi- 
dence, for what you are in need of. The Constitution 
orders this ; butyou must take care, only to ask for what is 
necessary and not for what is pleasant, which we could not 
have had even in the world ; nor must we wish, just at our 
own time, whatever we fancy, being unwilling to suffer at all. 
No, my dear daughters, we must be more mortified. A 
religious soul should have a supreme love for sufferings, and 
for practising her vow of poverty. For example, when we 
begin to feel a little cold, we immediately wish for blan- 
kets and clothing. Heat comes, and we want at once, to 
throw aside evei^thing sooner than the others. This 
evinces great tenderness and thought for ourselves, which 
makes me sometimes, somewhat sick at heart, for I see 
my daughters are not so perfect as I would have them. I 



ON THE QUALITIES OF TRUE ZEAL. 431 

will tell you, moreover, that this teaching of our blessed 
Father aimed especially at overcoming any excessive 
care for our bodies. He knew that women are generally 
very soft, and imagine that everything hurts them, every- 
thing inconveniences them, everything injures their health, 
that this thing is proper for them, and that not so ; I am 
better here than there ; this air is good for me, the other 
hurts me ; and a thousand other little foibles, which a soul 
with holy generosity and attention to God is without. But, 
do you know what was the special aim of this last coun- 
sel of our Blessed Father : " Ask for nothing, and refuse 
nothing?" It was to deliver and free our minds from so 
many thoughts, from so many reflections and designs, which 
souls not as yet divested of ' hemseives still have, causing 
them great troubles and disquietude. If we employ such 
persons for charges or for foundations, they will worry 
about the contradictions, the little vexations and difficul- 
ties, and the privation of their little comforts which will 
upset them. "O dear me!" they will say, "I am so 
distracted, so anxious, I cannot keepmyelf in the pres- 
ence of God ! When I was at Annecy, in our little cell 
there, I was so happj r , so recollected, our Mother was so 
gentle and kind to me; my sisters were all so cordial, kind, 
and condescending ! I agreed so well with their disposi- 
tions, they loved me so tenderly !".... All that is not 
virtue, and it is not to be virtuous to be cordial and 
meek when nothing puts you out, and when you are in 
your cell without being tried and have nothing to cause 
you sufferings, and when you are with a superior and 
sisters, who approve of all you do ; equability and holy joy 
are not marvellous in these occasions. I greatly fear, on 
the contrary, that our passions thrive amid such repose and 
quietness, and that you are full of yourselves, unmortified, 
attached to your own interests and satisfactions. If 
you look well at yourselves, you will find that your pre- 
tended virtue, is not in you, but in your superior, in your 
sisters, in your cell, and in the places where you are. If 
we seek God only, we shall find Him here, we shall find 
Him there ; and, because He is everywhere, in all places, 
and in all persons, if we wish Him alone, we shall be 
content with all things and everywhere. 



432 ON THE QUALITIES OF TRUE ZEAL. 

The third way to firmly establish our virtue is to receive 
all things as coming from the hand of God, Who sends us 
all for our good and to make us gain merit. One sister 
says a sharp word to you ; an other gives you an unkind 
answer; see in these things the goodness of our Lord, 
because, though He is not the author of the sister's imper- 
fection, He has, nevertheless, permitted this word to be 
said to you, to the end that you should profit by it, by 
practising patience, mortification, meekness and forbear- 
ance, and that your sister, on her side, should humble 
herself, and love her humiliation. We see that water is 
brought from the finest springs by pipes of iron, of lead 
and of wood ; this same water, passing through these 
channels, still comes from the spring to the places where 
it is wanted. In like manner, all our adversities and 
contradictions come from the sweet and first spring of the 
Deity. Though they pass through creatures and come to 
us from them, as through channels, we must never look 
at the means by which these bitter waters come to us, but 
must adore the source whence they are derived, and 
always turn our eyes to God in our troubles and adversities, 
to receive them from His adorable Hand. We should be 
extremely glad to have occasions to suffer and practice 
virtue, which is never better acquired, than when combated 
by its contrary, though God is able to give it to us in an 
instant. But He seldom works such miracles, and will 
have us, ordinarily, pass by a dark road and remain in low 
places till His Hand raises us to His dwelling place to 
make known to us His secrets. 

We are, it may be, very far from the sentiments of that 
soul mentioned in Philothea, who went to St. Athanasius, 
to beg him to give her a mistress harsh and difficult to 
serve, so that, by serving her, she might have something 
to endure, and exercise herself in virtue. When she 
saw that she had met with a good, gentle, and virtuous 
mistress, who gave her nothing to suffer, because the Saint 
had not well understood her intention, she went to him 
again, and begged him so effectually, that her design was 
accomplished, for this great Saint gave her across-grained, 
irascible and headstrong mistress, who tried her marvel- 
lously, and gave her full satisfaction and matter to profit 



ON THE QUALITIES OF TRUE ZEAL. 433 

by, that she might become perfect. Oh, my dear sisters, 
we would not do the same, for we wish the sisters with 
whom we live, to be so gentle, so cordial in our regard, as 
not to sa} 7 the least word which may touch or mortify us. 
All the officers should have their aids tractable and conde- 
scending. In truth they must obey, simply because the 
superior has placed them under the officers, and she has 
authority over all, as the head of the community. But the 
officers must not exercise authority over their aids ; they 
are to ask them cordially and kindly, because they have 
only a borrowed authority over them. 

The assistant of the community ought not to act with 
absolute power as the superior would do, for she has only 
that which the superior commits to her, the mother being 
the one who has been chosen above all the otners. But 
the sisters are. still to render her, in the absence of the 
superior, the same honors and obedience as to the superior 
herself, because the latter has made over to her her power 
and authority. 

The officers must not then act as mistresses over tljeir 
aids ; they must tell them humbly, and meekly, what they 
must do, speaking' to them with cordial respect: " Sister, 
will you kindly do this," oiy' Be so good as to do this, if you 
please." The aids may give their opinion, simply saying : 
" It seems to me this would be well done so," or, "we 
used to do things thus," and similar little words, accord- 
ing to occasions ; then, they will do as the officer wills, 
without controlling her or showing feelings and repug- 
nances, if what they have said is not made account of. 
Those who have the charges must not act as if they under- 
stood everything, without asking cordially the opinion and 
sentiment of their aids. 

In fine, my dear daughters, be gentle, kind, loving, and 
united, having only one heart and one soul ; bear witU one 
another, love one another, and thereby, it will be known 
that you are true servants of God, and true daughters of 
our blessed Father, whose accidental glory we shall increase 
and augment, by all the acts of virtue we shall perform, 
and by practising the holy teachings He has given us. I 
entreat you, my dear daughters. Let us be faithful to 
these, so that we may not rob Him of what we owe Him. 
28 



434 ON THE SPIRIT OF HUMILITY. 



FIFTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE XL. 

On the Spirit of Humility, the Distinctive Character of 
our Institute. 

The excellence of the spirit of our Institute consists in 
the love of humility, lowliness and abjection. When this 
humility shall decay, our excellence will fail. To be true 
Daughters of the Visitation, we must be truly humble, 
despise honor, and esteem contempt. 

When God finds in a soul a lowly mind, He gives it great 
graces, and imparts to it very special lights and favors. 
Indeed, this very lowliness is one of the greatest graces 
that it can receive. If we had our eyes open, and our inner 
taste well disposed to relish the fruits of humility and 
annihilation, we should be in continual happiness ; since it 
is that alone which can render us rich and well pleasing 
in the sight of God, in Whose eyes all that is not virtue is 
nothing. 

The true spirit of the Institute, my dear daughters, is 
none other than that of our Lord, truly humble, truly 
simple, upright, sincere, and joyous, in holy innocence and 
freedom. 

It is only the humble who glorify and honor God aright, 
because, acknowledging that of themselves they are noth- 
ing and can do no good thing, they render to God the 
honor and glory of all the good they do, knowing and con- 
fessing that He is the fount and origin of all graces and 
virtues. God is pleased to do great things by humble 
souls, souls that are really humble of heart. 

AH the Daughters of the Visitation are obliged, by their 
vocation, to seek, in all their exercises, their humiliation 
and abasement. God only favors souls which are humble 
and which put their whole trust in Him. The greatest 
abjection and vileness that can be in any soul, after sin, is 
to be without virtue. 

Humility and charity are the mothers of virtues : the one 
lowers us to nothingness, by the proper knowledge of what 



ON THE SPIRIT OF HUMILITY. 435 

we aie ; and the other raises us to the union of our souls 
with God ; all other virtues follow those two, as chickens 
their mother. Humility . is a precious coin for gaining 
heaven There is no perfection without humility, and we 
have as man} 7 degrees of perfection as we have of humi- 
lity, and no more. 

Virtue is hidden from the eyes of those who possess it, 
and is seen by others. The way to possess interior 
peace is to have genuine and most sincere humility, 
for the truly humble man has nothing to trouble him. 

Humility of heart is nothing else than genuine knowledge 
that we are nothing, that we can do nothing, and desiring, 
with true desire, that others should hold and treat us as 
such. It is that which is called humility of heart, which 
makes us annihilate ourselves in everything without excep- 
tion, and consider ourselves always better treated and 
esteemed than we deserve. 

The humbler we are the holier we are, and no more ; 
and if we bear little fruit, it is because we do not annihi- 
late ourselves enough in ourselves. However, if a man 
does not mortify himself nor does violence to himself, he 
will never bring forth the fruits of the will of God. 

My daughters, we should regard the glory of our Insti- 
tute and the esteem in which it is held, not in ourselves, 
but in God, from Whom it comes ; and never turn aside, for 
all the glory of the world, from the love of our low estate, 
vileness, and abjection. It is a terribly evil thing in us, 
religious souls, to love our own reputation and fear that 
some grains of the same be taken away from us, because 
we must be absolutely abandoned to the Providence of 
God, without Whose permission nothing can happen 
to us, for the essence of humility consists in having a 
will entirely submissive to the will of God. 

To frankly accuse ourselves of our faults is one of 
the truest marks of humility in a soul, as, on the contrary, 
the excusing of our faults and failings is an evident sign 
of very great pride. It is not possible to have peace, or 
at least true interior peace from virtue, except by means 
of humility sincerely practised. By humility, we overcome 
all temptations. O humility! foundation of all virtues: 
humility without which, as a foundation, no virtue can 



436 ON HUMILITY AND SOLID VIRTUE. 

subsist! In a word, sisters, humility is the princess and 
queen of all other virtues. I desire that we may all be 
saints, but saints of purest purity,, and most profound 
humility. 

The love of our own esteen is a helmet and a breast- 
plate to the soul, preventing it from receiving and being 
susceptible to the dart of the love of God. 



SIXTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE XVII., HELD AUG. 28, 1630. 

On Humility and Solid Virtue. 

My dear sisters, [ have often told you, that I do 
not profess to preach nor to speak of spiritual things, 
having but little skill in them. Let us, then, prefer to 
converse of the holy humility of our "great father, St. 
Augustine. This was his most excellent and eminently 
peculiar virtue. "If I am asked," says he, " the way 
to heaven, I shall answer you, it is humility ; and if I 
am asked again, by what road can we go to heaven, I 
shall still answer: by humility, by humility." 

What more perfect humility than to have written down 
all his sins, to publish them to the whole earth, that 
everyone might know, in the ages to come, that Augustine 
had been a great sinner. This was, indeed, to be dead to all 
self-esteem so as to prize only what is eternal. I often 
tell you, sisters, that all our ills come from our not 
looking enough to eternity ; this is what carries us to 
love only low and perishable things. 

There are three things which we only get rid of with 
difficulty ; the first is, honor, love, and esteem of our- 
selves ; the second, love of our bodies and their comforts ; 
and the third is, the hatred which we have for interior and 
exterior submission. 

Now, if we consider well, what this life is which is so 
short and full of misery, what account can we make of 
ourselves? True humility tends to the contempt of this 



ON tiUMILITY AND SOLID VIRTUE. 437 

self-esteem, and makes us love to be held poor, ignorant, 
little and imperfect, and to be forgotten by all creatures. 
In a word,* we shall never be humble but when we 
shall hold ourselves for little nothings ; and when we 
shall have reached this degree of loving to be held and to 
esteem ourselves as the refuse of the house, we will be 
very happy and very great in God's eyes. Alas ! see 
what has become of so many creatures who have been so 
great and so honored in this world ! Hell has received 
many, purgatory fewer, heaven a few only. 

As to the second subject of our attachments, which is 
the love of our bodies and of our little comforts : Ah ! 
my dear sisters, let us consider that nothing of what we 
have is our own ; it is only borrowed goods. Our true 
goods, our own are not so small and contemptible ; they 
are on high, and they are incorruptible goods. Our gar- 
ments shall be there, of wondrous beauty, and they who 
shall, with good heart, wear the meanest rags here below, 
shall receive there the richest ; thus, she who is poorest 
here, shall be happiest there. For our food, God forbid 
that any of His spouses should ever take pleasure in 
corruptible meats. We are to take them by obedience as a 
good which is common to us with the dullest animals, be- 
cause the true life of the soul wedded to God is God 
Himself, Who will become our eternal food, satisfying us, 
in glory and throughout eternity, with His beatific union. 

As to our will, ought we not to be ashamed to follow it, 
since Jesus Christ has passed His life in obedience, and 
has gloried only in doing and following the Will of His 
Father? The great gain of the soul is this submission to 
God's good pleasure, for this it is which unites it most 
intimately to Himself and His love. Henceforth, let us be 
more solid in virtue, and think that all the steps we take 
herein are so many steps of the ladder to mount to that 
happy and ever to be desired eternity, on which we ought 
to think without ceasing, that we may despise the more all 
that passes away. I tell you, over and over again, thou- 
sands of times, yearly, and I say it once more : let us labor, 
and that solidly, at that high virtue which God wills from 
us. We have great and good sentiments of love for this 
good God ! We have excellent desires and we make good 



438 ok HUMILITY Atib SOLID Vhtfutf. 

resolutions, but when it is time to come to acts we play 
the child, and have no constancy and no courage. Oh! 
how great is my desire to see us faithful in throwing aside 
our little tendernesses, to see us high-souled women, who 
do everything for God, be it sweet or bitter, easy or diffi- 
cult ! No, my daughters, it is not failing in magnanimity 
or rather in solidity of virtue, when we feel repugnance, 
rebellions, contradictions, provided we make them no con- 
cession and disown them ; for always here below, the flesh 
will struggle with the spirit, human against divine prudence, 
pride against humility, the lower part against the higher. 
Are we, then, to say that they who feel these motions are 
vicious with the vice which is attacking them? Oh ! no, 
for these combats, temptations and trials are given them 
in order to put a nail in the solidity of the contrary virtue. 
Thus a sister has a charge for which she has an extreme 
repugnance, and this repugnance accompanies her in all 
the actions she performs in fulfilment of her duty. I tell 
you, that provided that sister be careful to perform her 
charge well, and neglect nothing, and direct all her inten- 
tions to God, she gains more than if she performed this 
same charge with great pleasure, inclination, and satisfac- 
tion. 

You ask me, my dear sisters, what is solid virtue? It 
is virtue exercised and acquired amid difficulties and in 
fighting with its contrary. We are only religious that we 
may acquire it, and may God grant that at the hour of our 
death we be victorious in this fight, and find that we have 
acquired a single real virtue. For example, you wish to be 
like our Father, St. Augustine, a truly humble person. 
You must love contempt ; you must know and acknowledge 
that you are vile and abject, and wish to be so considered, 
that in whatever you do you may seek to annihilate and 
humble yourself. Our meek Jesus says : Learn of Me to 
be meek and humble of heart. If we are learning to be 
lowly as He was, we shall be so not only by obeying per- 
fectly, by submitting to live under obedience, as He did 
under the guidance of St. Joseph, by humbling ourselves 
as He humbled Himself ; but we shall follow Him in His 
supreme humiliation which was, to let Himself be humbled 
by His creatures, to have appeared a simple man, worthy 



'Otf HUMILITY AtfD SOLID yiRTUE. 43.) 

of being despised, and of being made the laughing stock 
and derision of His people. Act, therefore, in this way : 
humble yourselves faithfully and with fervor, and when 
others shall humble you, bear it with courage : leave your- 
selves in the hands of God and of obedience. Whether 
He place you here or there ; whether they turn you on one 
side or the other, in all that we must let them do with us 
as with a bit of clay which is trampled under foot, which 
is moulded and broken and moulded anew just as they 
will ; that is solid virtue. 

My dear sister, let us begin to walk in this way, under 
the protection of the great St. Augustine. Yes, sisters, 
the true religious virtues are : profound humility, humble 
submission, a complete surrender of ourselves into the 
hands of God, a strong renunciation of all the things of 
this world, and a generous and high-minded resolution 
which is not astonished at difficulties, but which, knowing 
its own weakness, leans on' the support and on the strength 
of the 'grace of its Beloved, and perseveres all through life 
in the good it has begun. 

There is no better mark that one is not worthy of a 
charge, than when she desires it and thinks herself capable 
of it, for if she were fit for it, she would consider herself 
unworthy of it. It is downright folly to desire anything 
apart from God, because we shall have neither the thing 
desired, nor the possession of God, which is the enjoyment 
of all good. It is also a secret pride not to desire em- 
ployment, and to wish to be discharged from those which 
obedience has given us, because we are to leave ourselves 
absolutely at God's disposal, and believe that these posi- 
tions will be taken from us when it shall be seen that we do 
not perform them well. Indeed, it is because we are not 
humble enough, and the love of abjection does not accom- 
pany us on all occasions, and we are fearful that it will 
be said ; sister has been removed from this employment 
because she did no good in it. 

My daughters, ask for nothing, wish for nothing, and 
refuse nothing ; be indifferent in all things, be as ready to 
receive a charge as to be removed from it, and } 7 ou will 
have true virtue. 

If we knew, sisters, the value of obedience we should not 



440 ON HUMILITY AND SOLID VIRTUE. 

let slip any occasion of practising it. Yes, merely to bow 
the head in token of obedience, although with repugnance 
of the inferior part, gains for us a greater good than we 
should possess if we had in our hands the empire of the 
world. We learn this from the choice which the Incar- 
nate Wisdom made when He came down to earth. It 
was not of the riches and grandeurs of this world which He 
chose, but obedience only, and He lived in submission to St. 
Joseph and to Mary, His mother, and to His eternal 
Father, even to the death of the cross. 

No, sister, we are never right in excusing ourselves, but 
we are quite right in accusing ourselves. There is nothing 
which sheds a holier and sweeter perfume in a community 
than a humble soul which accuses itself frankly ; and, on 
the other hand, there is nothing so offensive as one who 
covers her faults, when admonished of them, saying 
merely : '* I humbly acknowledge my fault." Ah ! sister, I 
know at once the pride hidden in those few words. , Say 
quite simply : " Mother, I humbly acknowledge having done 
it," that it may be known you take the fault upon you : if 
you have not, perhaps, done it this time, you may have 
at another. We are only to admonish of certain faults 
of which we are not to be ashamed to avow ourselves 
guilty, and humility is well seen on these occasions, 
and we shall ever find our profit and advancement in 
perfection, where we find causes for humbling ourselves. 
In fact, the humble soul always accuses herself, and 
the proud excuses herself unceasingly. Let us ask our 
great Father, St. Augustine, to obtain for us this true 
treasure of real humility, which has made him greater in 
heaven than his eminent doctrine, and all his other virtues. 
Praised be God and His great servant, Augustine ! 



0Y SELF-LOVE. 141 

SEVENTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE VIII. 

On Self-love and the Damage it does the Soid. 

There are souls which are so full of themselves, that 
they show it in all they do, iu their work, in their words, 
and in their manner of acting. But there are some, who are 
still more deep ; they dissimulate, and yet when I speak 
to them, I see self-love dancing inside them. Ah ! we 
must be very careful to empty ourselves of self by 
complete self-denial and mortification. 

You ask me if a soul cannot be very full of itself without 
knowing it? Yes, that is very possible. But, certainly, 
those souls do not read the Conferences of our blessed 
Father, and do not penetrate deeply enough into this true 
science, which teaches us nothing so much as abasement 
of self. For if, indeed, we read and practised these, we 
should be braver women than we are. Indeed, I would 
that we were all quite perfect with the perfection which 
our saint has taught us. We are good souls, true ; we go 
to the office, we keep silence, that is well. We make no 
reply to obedience, that is good also ; but have these souls 
which do outward things so well any inward trial? No. 
Ah ! give them a touch of that, and at once you will know 
what the} T are. Prick them, and you will see how quick 
and sensitive they are and how they nurse their feelings ! 
I know, indeed, that to have feelings and passions which 
are quickly and promptly moved, when we are found fault 
with, is nothing, and is no hindrance to perfection, 
provided that we do not follow them. Oh ! how often we 
have been taught this doctrine ! 

Let then those who have not strong passions, nor feelings 
of repugnance not think themselves the most perfect ; but, 
on the contrary, those who have the strongest have many 
more means of establishing themselves in, and of acquiring 
true and solid virtue, if they are faithful to God. But 
when one conquers herself, you say, or practises some 
good action, there comes a certain complacency and 



442 



ON SELF-LOVE. 



satisfaction which spoils all, and makes us lose all, if we 
take not good heed. You say, truly, my dear daughter ; 
and, what a misfortune, when, after having made some 
good sacrifices, we take complacency in ourselves on 
account of them ; is not all lost? But, if we can never, or 
rarely, do good without some satisfaction resulting from it, 
that is not evil ; but, to entertain ourselves with it, and to 
take pleasure in it, this is what spoils all. And what must 
we do in that case? We must crush those thoughts of 
complacency and vain satisfation, humble ourselves and 
seek humiliation, give glory to God for all, and acknowledge 
that of ourselves we can do nothing. In one word, we 
must be faithfully faithful and humbly humble ; the meaning 
of which is, we must, in all things, seek only the glory of 
God, and do nothing but to please Him ; nothing for our- 
selves or for creatures, but all for God ; humble ourselves 
both for good and for evil, but with real, faithful, and 
sincere humility. I do not see that we profit by our faults ; 
we do not humble ourselves sufficiently for them, we are 
not sufficiently in love with our humiliation. 

There are souls, already a long time in religion, who 
never have any peace, because they do not labor at an 
absolute renunciation of their own sentiments. They have 
been told, and told again, many times, what they are to do 
in these troubles, and instead of keeping firm and resting 
in that, and bearing their cross meekly and patiently (for 
this state is a cross), they wish ever to have new 
things said to them, and herein have their will and 
inclination. Hence it comes that they are not tranquil, as 
they would be, if they resolved to carry patiently this 
little cross. 

We must, also, animate our outward actions with extreme 
attention, which gives us courage to bear our troubles, and 
to labor to acquire perfection, not because it is a good 
thing, nor for the good which comes to us from it, but 
because by so doing we please God. We must come into 
this house, not to feel fervent, but to labor for profound 
humility, submission, mortification, and renunciation ; and 
not solely to flee occasions of doing evil and to have 
more means of doing good, but to please God, and do all 
things for the love of Him. You think when you have 



bN SELF- LOVE. 443 

passed your year of novitiate, and wear the black veil, that 
all is done. Oh ! indeed, you are mistaken, for you must 
be always beginning, doing all your actions with the same 
fervor, as on your first day. We must often consider 
our rules, and compare what we are with what we ought 
to be. I would, indeed, that we should very often think on 
the excellence of our calling, and that we should strive to 
render ourselves such as it requires us to be. It demands 
that we be humble, meek, obedient, and simple ; we must 
not live according to our inclinations and aversions ; this is 
what we must do, nor must we stop short till we have 
gained the true spirit. 

Would that I had coals of fire to cast into your hearts 
that 1 might inflame them ; but I am not worthy to render 
this service to our Lord, or to the house. 

We must increase our courage in order to arrive at per- 
fection. We can never arrive at it without the mortifi- 
cation of our passions. Let each one look at what 
is in her, and let her undertake, in good earnest, to 
become better. 

We are to foster a great respect for one another ; to 
this our rules oblige us ; and, certainly, where there is no 
respect, there is no love. 

We must take heed of the vice of negligence, it is a 
great evil for religious. If you are neglectful and take no 
care to purge your heart of this imperfection, and if you 
battle not generously with this evil inclination, you will be 
religious in dress only. 

There are few persons who serve God purely. We are 
so full of self that it is pitiable. Our works are done out 
of human respect, or through some impure intention. 1 
am not speaking of great impurities, that is not my 
meaning ; but of intentions very far from those we ought 
to have of serving God, purely to please Him, by doing 
all for Him with lively and simple affection. 

My daughters, to serve God barely and simply is not 
to cover and double our actions, for what is simple is not 
double ; what is bare is not covered. Look at my hand ; 
it cannot be more naked and simple than it is, and so 
must we be without having any other intention than to 
please Him. To serve God purely, means not to seek for 



44 J 'ON PRAYER AND MORTIFICATION. 

consolations, out of self-love, but to serve Him as faith- 
fully amid dryness and aridity as in feelings and delights. 

We know that we desire consolations out of self- 
love, when we are troubled at not having them, and when 
we are more negligent in God's service. No, we must 
not desire them. . . . But are they sometimes useful ? 
Yes, chiefly for beginners. Therefore, we see our Lord is 
wont to give them at that time. But we, who have been 
long at it, must eat the crusts. 

There is no doubt, my daughters, that a soul who 
was attacked all day by useless thoughts, and who was 
faithful in bringing the mind back to God immediately on 
perceiving it, would do as much for Him, and even more, 
than one who had great facility in turning to God, and in 
turning awa}^ from and withdrawing from useless things ; 
true virtue consists in that. Let those who are in that 
stnte practice with courage and faithfulness this returning 
to God, and let them persevere therein, for I assure them 
it is the true means of acquiring perfection in a short time. 



EIGHTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE XXXIII. 

On Prayer and Mortification. 

Indeed ! I have no other design nor wish, but that you 
should remain quiet and tranquil near our Lord during 
prayer, and that beginners at it should make use of their 
imagination, because, ordinarily, they have their minds 
full of the world, of their relatives, and other vanities 
When they are meditating on the mysteries of the Passion, 
let them print vividly in their minds the torments which 
our Lord has suffered for us. For example : when they 
are considering the scourging, they must represent to 
themselves the mystery as if they were at the very place ; 
by this imagination, well impressed in their minds, they 
will rid themselves of troubles and cares for the things of 
earth. 



ON PRAYER AND MORTIFICATION. 445 

But when souls begin to advance, they must be guided 
by a truth still higher, which is that our Lord suffers no 
more, but that He has suffered ; and the} 7 must be taught 
to say some words to Him on what He has endured for 
love of us, and abide in that simple thought. But, if God 
chooses to occupy us with Himself at the commencement 
of our meditation, there is no need to go in search of our 
point. Let us keep ourselves, quiet, near Him without 
making our imagination labor much, nor saying many 
words, for, in general, that hinders us from drawing 
good affections which is, however, true prayer. In a 
word, considerations are only made in order to stir up 
our affections. But, it happens sometimes that the soul is 
occupied on some of the divine attributes, as, for example ; 
on the greatness, the goodness, the power of God. We 
must then be careful to walk in this way, as long 
as God calls us thereto. But, when He withdraws 
this simple and loving view, the soul becomes quite chilled 
and oppressed in heart ; then it must open the door to 
words of love and submission, or at other times, of adora 
tion and acquiescence in His divine will. When we 
meditate on the scourging, and see our Lord suffering this 
cruel punishment, we must say : u O my Lord ! how hast 
Thou deigned to lower Thyself to suffer these lashes of 
the scourge ! " Then, if you feel your affections stirred 
by these few words, you must stop there : and, afterwards, 
when the affection is passed, you must make use of others, 
always according as you are drawn. 

There are souls which go with so much eagerness and 
affection to prayer, that it is a great pleasure to see them. 
They become so warm in their words, that they hardly give 
themselves time to breathe. They say with such great 
affection : "Ah ! Lord ! . . ." that it seems they wish 
10 melt away and be consumed before Him. We must 
not do that, but make the meditation with much tran- 
quillity and calm. When we enter upon it, we must 
prostrate ourselves in the spirit of humilit}' before our 
Lord, take our point quietly, until our affections be 
stirred. We must never be astonished if we have no 
feelings in prayer, for these are not what God asks of us ; 
but, to be quiet, tranquil, and humble. If, at the end 



446 ON PRAYER AND MORTIFICATION. 

of the meditation, we feel no affection, we must say 
to our Lord: "It is true, my God! that I feel 
no affection, but, I will, nevertheless, be very gentle 
among the sisters," — and go from prayer with this affec- 
tion of sweetness. Thus, although we may have no con- 
solation in prayer, we shall still . be very gentle and 
tranquil. We must speak to our Lord very familiarly, 
heart to heart, aud so softly that our good angel hear it 
not. 

Yon ask, my daughter, when you have cominitteci some 
faults, if it would be good to think thereon at meditation, 
so as to humble yourself for them? Yes, you may do so, 
but very simply ; for, if you wished to look in detail at 
your failings and the persons against whom you have com- 
mitted them, there would be danger, that instead of 
speaking to God, you would be speaking to creatures, and 
that would distract you. It is enough to say: "Ah, 
Lord ! Thou knowest my wretchedness ! " and then stop, 
for He knows it well enough, without our representing it 
to Him in detail. 

You ask, my dear daughter, if we are not to listen to 
our Lord speaking in our heart? Most certainly ; yes, I 
advise you to do this, and after you have run over your 
point a little, you must listen to Him, for it is by that means 
that He will give you good desires of serving Him. 

You ask, my daughter, if we meditated without 
knowing what we were doing and what were our affections 
at the time? O ! indeed ! we must not do that, we should 
be losing our time to no purpose. We should always 
know in what we are occupied, and what affections God 
has given us therein, at least in will, for we must never 
stop at the feeling. We should never leave prayer without 
making good and efficacious resolutions, that is to say, they 
must produce works, for, otherwise, it would be of no use 
to make them. 

My dear daughters, you must know that meditation is to 
be so followed by mortification, that at the °ame time that 
we advance in prayer, we must advance in mortification ; 
and, with the same pace that we walk in the mortification 
must we advance also in prayer. I always come back to this. 
Mortification must be our plank for entering on prayer. 



ON PRAYER AND MORTIFICATION. 447 

Although it is at prayer that we receive good inspirations, 
it is always by means of mortification that we obtain them. 
We should be the same out of prayer, as we would desire 
to be during it. We must take great care, during the day, 
to keep our mind in God, to empty it of everything useless, 
especially of that with which we have nothing to do, 
because, when we let it become dissipated, we render it 
unfit to be united to God, to meditate and pray. 

I strongly commend to you, my dear daughters, cordial 
prayer, that is prayer which is not made by the under- 
standing, but by the heart. It is practised in this way; 
when we are humbled before God, and have placed ourselves 
in His presence, let us not force our brain to make consid- 
erations ; but, let us make use of our affections, exciting 
them to the best of our power. When we cannot ex- 
cite them by interior words, we should employ vocal words, 
as the following : "I thank Thee, O my God, because Thy 
goodness permits me to be here, before Thy Face, I who am 
mere nothingness." Another time : "Oray Lord! grant 
me the grace to learn how to speak to Thee, for I prefer this 
happiness to all other." In fact, we must go to prayer with 
great simplicity. But, for those who take our Lord in the 
garden of Olives and lead Him to Calvary, I advise them 
to stop, for they are making a long way in a short time, 
and are going too quickly. 

Now, for imagination ; it is good for souls in trouble. 
It is a good means of diverting them from their trouble 
and from useless things. There are some, who can do no- 
thing at meditation but keep themselves with great honor 
and respect before God, and this prayer is good. Others 
have a thousand sorts of evil thoughts and feelings ; this 
is to endure and suffer, and is still prayer. Others again 
have many distractions ; for them much patience is neces- 
sary ; and, provided these be not wilful, the prayer is still 
good. In fine, there are others who go to prayer and fina 
our Lord as they wish, and treat with Him according to 
their desire ; that is the prayer of repose, wherein there 
is more to enjoy than to suffer. They who are slothful in 
prayer go to ruin from the root. Certainly, we must have 
especial care to combat slothf ulness, for it brings immense 
harm to the soul. To be a soul of prayer, is to have great 



448 RESOLUTION OF THE RETREAT. 

love for it, to be faithful in preparing for it, to be very 
punctual in observing all the circumstances required 
for praying well, to be faithful in casting aside all the 
distractions which occur to us therein. This is to be a 
soul of prayer. 



NINTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE LII. HELD IN 1634, WHEN THE SAINT 
WAS IN RETREAT WITH FIVE OR SIX SISTERS. 

On Fidelity in Accomplishing the Resolution of the Retreat, 
and especially in Avoiding the least Voluntary Faults. 

(Speaking of the love we ought to have for our abjection, our 
holy Mother said to us:) 

Great matter indeed ! Let persons be the most faulty, 
the most wretched in the world, if they love their abjection, 
humility atones for all. But, alas ! most frequently, we 
want to have this or that ; we want to have grand senti- 
ments, high things, and God does not wish it. He 
permits us to have a certain temptation, and wishes us to 
love our own abjection therein. 

In order, really, to get the benefit of retreat, we must not 
be satisfied with making and writing good resolutions, but 
we must read them two or three times a day, and hold our- 
selves ever in readiness to practice them when the time 
comes. Above all we must prepare ourselves for this, 
when going to the place where mortifications and admo- 
nitions are given, which we should receive at once, with 
humility. Afterwards we should not let our mind reflect 
thereon, nor think that it is done through aversion ; for 
very often we are the cause of our distractions, and we are 
our own tempters. 

The spirit of the Visitation is a spirit which leads to a 
high perfection, which is not acquired, but by the practice 
of solid virtues. 

We ought to take our recreation with joy and gladness, 
during the half- hour allowed by the Book of Customs, but 



RESOLUTION OF TI1E RETREAT. 449 

we should not let ourselves give way to excessive joy, 
which might dissipate the mind. We must uot confouud 
times ; for this reason it is better not to make prayers and 
mortifications during the time of recreation. But the 
half-hour being past, we may all together salute the 
Blessed Virgin by a Salve Reyina or other prayers, for 
it is no longer the time of recreation. In like manner, 
in the evening, we may go and say, all together, the Litany 
of our Blessed Father, in his oratory, after the said half- 
hour. 

(The last evening we begged her Charity to give us a 
watchword, which we should remember. This incompa- 
rable Mother answered us. I have already thought 
about this seven or eight times, but nothing has 
come into my mind save fidelity, real, great fidelity to 
our resolutions. I know that God has given to each of 
you light enought to know her needs, and I think, 
that all have made the resolutions they knew or almost 
knew before the retreat of what is needful for them. We 
do not want so many things, but only to set our- 
selves faithfully to practice what we have proposed on the 
proper occasions. But we must not be weakly faithful to 
this, but loyally faithful, for, do not think, sisters, that 
it is as easy to practice them as to think them. Oh ! no, 
indeed, that would be to deceive ourselves. We must write 
and engrave them on the parchment of our hearts, and 
not on paper, where they are of little use, if we have not 
this fidelity. By this, I do not mean that we must not 
write them ; for, therein, I leave to each the liberty which 
is given her; but I say that we must call them to mind, 
at least two or three times a day, and put them in practice ; 
in fine, we must combat and get the mastery over our- 
selves. 

I have not yet found in our Lord's words that any one 
has entered paradise by laughing, frolicking, and following 
her inclinations ; but all have entered there by the narrow 
gate, and our Lord, Himself, has entered by no other way. 
The same Lord says : "By thy words thou shalt be con- 
demned, and by thy words thou shalt be justified." 

I was reading to day, in St. Matthew, that wide is the 
gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and 
29 



450 RESOLUTION OF THE RETREAT. 

many there are who go in thereat, but narrow is the gate, 
and straight is the way that leadeth to life, and few there 
are that find it. You see, my dear sisters, that God has 
taken us from the dregs of the world to place us in religion, 
which is the narrow way. Let us, then, carefully and faith- 
fully walk therein : for no good is obtained without pain. 

But, you say, that even though we make many resolutions, 
we fall again. Certainly, my dear sister, you ought to 
know that we are of a frail nature ; this is why we shall be 
liable, even till death, to commit faults by haste and sur- 
prise, and it is these of which the Scripture says, the just 
man sins seven times a day and rises as often. But, you say 
that sometimes we see a sin clearly, and then let ourselves 
fall into it. Oh ! my daughter, that is very serious. But, 
what, then, is to be done, save to humble ourselves 
deeply and commit as few of such faults as possible ? No, 
indeed, we must not commit them, if possible, for these 
wilful faults are highly dangerous, and one committed with 
our eyes open is more to be feared than a hundred others 
committed without thought, for those we commit without 
thought are also effaced without our thinking of them ; for 
we commit many venial sins, of which we have not always 
the sight. But God is so good ! He sees that we have 
fallen without knowing it, and He, therefore, makes us rise 
without our being aware of it, pardoning us, for some act 
of love which we make, some act of contrition, or of charity, 
or of humility, which we exercise towards certain sisters, 
or by taking holy water. But a fault committed with our 
eyes open, wilfully, however little it may be, is more dis- 
pleasing to God, and more dangerous for our soul, than a 
greater one committed by surprise. Indeed, "it is 
not possible," says our Blessed Father, " for a soul to 
make great advance, when it wilfully cherishes such faults, 
for they hinder us from corresponding to God's graces." 

We must never lose courage, but rise again humbly, 
and if the fault requires confession, we must accuse our- 
selves of it with good heart. If we have offended our 
neighbor, that is to say, our sisters, let us do as the 
Custom Book orders : let us ask their pardon. This is a 
custom I greatly desire to see kept up here ; and to this 
end, sisters, I pra} r you to bring away from your retreats 



ON ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 451 

an affection for this practice ; it is good, humble, charitable, 
and of good example. 

Farewell, sisters, we are being separated in body, but 
not in spirit; and then we must always remain united by 
holy love. I pray God to bless you all. I again recom- 
mend to 3 T ou fidelity. And believe me, sisters, examine 
yourselves three or four times a day on your resolutions. 
And, to conclude, go, my daughters, do all the good you 
shall see, and avoid all the evil you may know. 



TENTH DAY. 

CONFERENCE XLI. 

On Abandonment to Providence, another Distinctive 
Character of the Spirit of our Institute. 

Yes, sisters, it is a true point of the highest and most 
sublime perfection, to be entirely given over, dependent, 
and submissive to the events of divine Providence. 
If we have, indeed, surrendered ourselves thereto, 
we shall be as well pleased to be a hundred leagues from 
here, as here ; aud even more so, finding therein more of 
God's pleasure, and less of our own satisfaction. It 
would be indifferent to us to be humbled or exalted, to be 
led by this hand or the other, to be in dryness, aridity, 
sorrow, and privation, or to be comforted by the divine 
unction and in the enjoyment of God. In fact, we should 
keep ourselves in the good hands of this great God, like 
cloth in the hands of the tailor, who cuts it in a hundred 
ways for use, as he pleases and as he designs, while it puts 
no hindrance in the way. So we should endure to have 
this powerful hand of God cut, hammer, chisel us just as 
He wishes, to make us a fit stone for the adornment of 
His building. Both afflictions and delights should be 
the same to us, while we exclaim with our great Father, 
St. Augustine : " Cut, sever, burn, my Lord Jesus Christ ; 
provided I am with Thee and possess Thee, I am content !" 

Sisters, shall we never attain to the total destruction of 



452 ON ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 

human sentiments and the overthrow of human prudence, 
so as to see with a pure eye, a true faith, the beauty and 
blessing of afflictions, of sufferings, of sorrows of heart, 
of derelictions, and sickness? The world is only attached 
to the skin, and goes not so far as to see the hidden pith 
under the sweetness of the Cross. It only sees the outside, 
which appears rugged and painful ; but it penetrates not to 
the inside, where we taste more pleasure, if we, indeed, 
love God, than we shall ever find in the enjoyment of the 
false and vain satisfactions that the same world can give. 
Man sees a person deserted, persecuted, and mortified. He 
thinks that person miserable, and would willingly weep 
with compassion for him, on seeing him cast off by 
creatures ; but if he discerned and entered into the sweet- 
ness which God makes that soul find in humiliation, he 
would envy it the happiness it possesses in being admitted 
to the honor of the diviue familiarity. 

It is a great mercy of divine Providence to permit the 
faithlessness of creatures, and to have things to go ill with 
us and other than we would wish them, because all that 
compels our heart, which God has created free and dis- 
engaged, to go to Him for repose. This poor heart is so 
feeble, that if it always met with satisfaction in creatures, 
it would go with difficulty to the Creator. The eyes of the 
flesh do not see this clearly, but God sees it for us. He 
knows that sorrow and humiliation render us conformable 
to His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. But for us, my dear 
sisters, whom the divine mercy has separated from the 
world, whom it has withdrawn within the cloister to distin- 
guish from the rest of creatures by so many graces and 
benefits, let us be ever ready to do and suffer all that God 
wishes of us, and let us never say : enough of pains, of 
contempt, and abnegation ; but, here we are wholly 
submissive and ready to do Thy good pleasure. To speak 
in this way, is to live after the spirit, and not according to 
the motions of the inferior part, which has no share in this 
perfect manner of acting. This is the way wherein the 
true Daughters of the Visitation should walk. 

Holy Job exclaimed on his dung-hill : " Let Him who 
has begun to afflict me only finish His work in me : I take 
pleasure therein, because I see His will in my extreme 



ON ABANDONMENT TO PROVIDENCE. 453 

sufferings, and I bless His hoi} 7 Name in the midst of this 
cruel trial." True resignation consists in the practice 
of this marvellous patience, and in blessing God for what 
He las taken from us, as well as for what He has given 
us. I must confess the truth to you, my dear sisters, I 
should have much holy joy in seeing you all truly aban- 
doned to the good pleasure of this great God, and 
submissive to His divine Providence. Our Blessed Father 
said to me one day, that that was the only rendezvous of 
our heart, and we ought to have no other. 

The principal work that we find in our rules and the 
angelic perfection to which this Institute should aspire 
consists not in a great multiplicity of penitential acts and 
works, much esteemed by the world ; but it leads us to a 
perfection wholly hidden in God. Therein, is our ex- 
cellence, to see the will of God in all things and to follow 
it. This hidden life leads us to union with God, sepa- 
ration from all created things, and to perfect purity of 
heart, which is infinitely pleasing to God. He has not 
thus hidden us except to make us live by Him and in Him. 
Let us, then, make of our sweet enclosure an earthly 
paradise, and of our cells the dwelling-place of the Spouse. 
Let us render our whole Monastery the place of these 
delights, and the noon-day where His love may come and 
repose. This we can do by His grace ; let us only have 
courage, and we shall obtain this favor, by observing our 
rules exactly, by doing all our actions in profound, sincere, 
and frank humility, living in perfect abnegation of self 
and in poverty, stripped of all things, neither living, 
breathing r.or aspiring but for this heavenly Spouse of our 
souls. Let us love our dear sisters tenderly and equally, 
and let us serve our Lord with a joyful mind and with 
contentment in the state of our calling, living, indeed, in 
peace and tranquillity under the wings of His divine 
Providence which takes such great care of us. His grace 
will never fail us, let us be faithful thereto ; let us follow 
its attractions, and God will bless us with a great blessing. 



EXAMINATION 



EETREAT 



SA1JT JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL. 



LIVE JESUS- 



AN 

EXAMINATION, 

USEFUL FOR THE ANNUAL CONFESSION, 

COMPOSED BY 

ST. JANE FRANCE^ DE CHANTAL. 



First, examine yourself as to your progress or losses 
since your last annual retreat. See whether or not you have 
acquired any bad habit which you had not before ; then 
cast your eyes upon the most ordinary imperfections, 
temptations, repugnances, and difficulties you had in 
the observance of the rules, constitutions and customs. 
After having sought and found the source of all these 
evils, discover and confess them with simplicity, and with 
renewed courage and resolution again resolve to tend to 
the perfection of your state with all your power, by the 
exercise of those virtues which will be particularly recom 
mended to you. 

How have you received the Sacraments ? Have you not 
sometimes approached them through custom, imitation or 
fear rather than through devotion ? have you not lost the 
fruits of them from want of preparation? 

In going to confession are you glad to make yourself 
known as worthy of abjection ? If so you will tell your 
sins very simply and humbly ; you will generously tell your 
defects witli all that can render }'OU more confused and 
ashamed before the confessor. Have you been faithful 
in correcting what you have confessed ? Have you made 



458 EXAMINATION FOR THE ANNUAL CONFESSION. 

sincere acts of contrition before going to confession, and 
after confession have you been careful to thank God for 
this grace which is assuredly very great? 

How have you made your preparation and thanksgiving 
for Holy Communion? Have you made any special acts 
of virtue for this intention, and have you kept your mind 
more recollected in consideration of so great a benefit? 
Do you not soon become distracted after Holy Com- 
munion ? Have you been more humble, meek and cordial 
on Communion days? for these are the fruits we ought to 
derive from it. 

Have you been careful to purify and direct your inten- 
tion at the beginning of each exercise and important 
action, offering them to God for His glory, in honor of the 
most holy Virgin, or for some other intention? 

Have you not been tepid in devotion, and have not prac- 
tices of virtue beei> irksome to you ? Have you not, some- 
times, found the office long, meditation painful, spiritual 
exercises burdensome, elevations of the heart to God very 
difficult? Have yon not assisted at, or performed these 
exercises without attention? Have you not trifled with 
the lights God has given you, as well concerning the good 
you should do, as the evil you should avoid, disregarding 
these lights, in order to commit imperfections more boldly, 
and to neglect more easily the good they show you? 

How did you go to the office, and how did you comport 
yourself whilst there, as also at prayer, and at Holy Mass? 
In your examinations, have you not been careless in your 
preparation, and in subjecting your mind and attention to 
the teachings given you in this regard, according to what 
is said in the Custom Book ? 

Have you been prompt in rejecting distractions? Have 
you not caused them by neglecting to guard your eyes, or 
b} 7 not keeping your mind recollected during the day, 
amusing yourself with useless things ? 

How did you observe your Holy Rules, the Consti- 
tutions, and above all your sacred vows? Did you obey 
exactly in all things ; promptly, without delay ; simply, 
without reply; lovingly, without chagrin, or ill-humor; 
cordially, and cheerful, without murmur ; humbly, without 
criticising and censuring the command? Have you not 



EXAMINATION FOR THE ANNUAL CONFESSION^ 459 

been more exact in charges that are honorable and impor- 
tant, than in those that are object and of less importance? 
Have you not disobeyed, through negligence, forgetfulness, 
sloth, or laziness ; through stubbornness, or obstinacy 
with deliberation ; through dislike for the command, or 
for the one who gave it, or through want of esteem for 
the command, either in things of little importance or other- 
wise? Speak clearly on these points for they are very 
important. Have you not had some aversion to the 
superioress, which caused you to pass judgment on her 
words and actions, saying that she spoke or acted through 
passion, self-interest, particular affection, vanity and the 
like? But what would be still worse, have you not 
despised her in your heart, disesteemed her ordinances, 
her conduct and her judgment, especially in regard to the 
mortifications and corrections she may have given you ? 
These are true marks by which you may know your 
defects. Have you not murmured and complained of 
her to the sisters, or even to externs, or when at 
coufession, or treating of your conscience with some 
Father? 

Have you not tried to make known her defects, or those 
of others, to excuse your own, or under pretext of making 
yourself better understood ? Have you not 'failed in 
respect to her, by replies, or by contradicting her through 
passion, and with audacit} 7 , before the sisters, refusing to 
obey her, in order to do your own will, through obstinacy 
or otherwise? Our obedience should be established in a 
perfect abnegation of self-will and judgment. 

Respecting holy poverty. Have you not appropriated 
to yourself, either in effect, or in affection, something, 
whether little or great? Have you not murmured when 
something was wanting to you, or when what was given 
was not to your liking, whether in food, medicine, 
clothing, bedding, or some other corporal convenience? 

Have you asked, taken or given anything without leave? 

Have you asked, desired or kept, without necessity, 
something which you foresaw might afterwards be of 
service to you ? 

If in any charge, have you served the sisters without 
choice? Have you given them, willingly and cheer- 



460 EXAMINATION FOR THE ANNUAL CONFESSION. 

fully, the things under your charge without any other 
consideration than necessity alone? 

Have you preferred yourself in the distribution of any- 
thing whatever? because our poverty should be despoiled 
of all things. 

Our chastity should be angelic, therefore, examine if 
your imagination, thoughts, desires, feelings, have been 
without attack, or, at least, without fault. Make this ex- 
amination very simply, though faithfully, and accuse 
yourself of the faults you may remark, with a most generous 
humility and confidence. 

Towards Ourselves. 

Well ordered love, will make you have great care of the 
purity and advancement of your soul in perfection, and 
very little care and affection for your body, the care of 
which you will leave to your superioress. 

Have you not esteemed yourself above your neighbor? 
Have you not desired to be esteemed? Have you not tried 
to show your great knowledge of spiritual things, speaking 
of interior things, and saying words to authorize your 
opinion, and even obstinately maintaining it through vanity 
or pride? - Have you not spoken advantageously of your- 
self and of what belonged to you, of the good yon have 
done and still do, proposing yourself as an example to 
others, under pretext of edifying your neighbor, and 
causing her to do likewise? 

Have you not spoken of your relatives and of the ad- 
vantages you had in the world, or of the honor that was 
there shown you ? Or have you not spoken of things still 
more vain, such as dancing, playing, dressing, walking, 
of having had advantageous offers of marriage, and such 
like follies, amusing yourself by thinking of them, and 
flattering yourself in the vain belief that you were esteemed, 
loved, and admired? Have you not by artful words, 
inquired what was said of you in your absence, especially 
when it was to your praise? Have you not by some 
amusing words, tried to prolong the discourse, when it 
tended to your own praise, or that of those you love, and 
even sought to increase it? Have you not entertained, 



EXAMINATION FOR THE ANNUAL CONFESSION. 461 

yourself with persons, not so much for their virtues and 
merit and the duty you owed them, as through vanity, 
because they love you, and make great account of you, or 
praise you, thinking it will tend to your honor when it is 
known that they consider you possessed of a good heart, 
sound mind and judgment, and that your conversation is 
agreeable? 

Have you not taken delight in speaking of the conver- 
sations you have had with some distinguished persons, 
relating the counsels you have asked and the answers 
given when you judged them suitable to the purpose? All 
this is very vain. 

Have you never taken pleasure, or amused yourself in 
relating dreams, through vanity, telling your thoughts and 
desiring good interpretations to be drawn from them? 
Has it not pained you to hear others praised and to know 
they are loved and esteemed, lest it might tend to your 
disadvantage? Have you not tried to lessen the praise 
given to others, either by your words, or by your silence ; 
and what would be still worse, have you not related their 
faults on these occasions, through jealously, pride, or envy, 
or through fear of not being loved, esteemed, and preferred ? 

Have you not resented humiliations and corrections, 
murmured at them in thought and word? Have you not 
lost affection, conceived aversion for, and failed in confi- 
dence towards those who have humbled you or warned you 
of your defects ? Have you not felt pain when employed in 
iow and servile things, and a disgust for the less important 
charges, loving to be employed and acting with greater 
care in the more honorable offices desiring, under some 
pretext, the more elevated charges? This is very prejudi- 
cial and an assured mark of little virtue. 

Have you not yielded to impatience, with yourself and 
others for slight causes ; have you been subject to feelings 
of anger, giving vent to them by words, actions, or resent- 
ment? Were the faults you committed deliberate, or did 
they proceed from impulse? Have you shown spite upon 
slight contradictions? Were the words you used to express 
your feelings on such occasions, bitter, harsh, dry, cold, 
haughty or cutting, meant to wound her who.had displeased 
you, or were they uttered through a spirit of revenge? 



462 EXAMINATION FOR THE ANNUAL CONFESSION. 

Have you entertained these feelings, showing by your 
countenance and manner that you were still offended with 
her, answering shortly, or pretending not to understand 
what she says or the like defects? 

Have you not acquiesced in the will of seculars, or 
others, through human respect, or the fear of displeasing 
them, losing the offices or other exercises, without necessity 
to entertain them with vain and frivolous things, listening 
at length to unnecessary news and the like, without inter- 
rupting them because of the pleasure you took in them ; 
looking at their vanity and smiling at their folly, besides 
committing acts of levity and indiscretion which gave 
them confidence to take liberties unbecoming your state? 
Have you not permitted too great familiarity in your in- 
tercourse with them? All this is evil and detrimental to 
perfection. 

Have you not uselessly multiplied your words, 
and used terms of exaggeration to testify your affection 
for them, praising them, telling them you esteem them, 
prefer them, speak well of them in their absence, think of 
them, or that you desire to see them? On the other hand 
have you not been too cold and reserved, and failed to 
testify the sweet and holy cordiality your institute requires? 

Have you not sometimes told untruths through impetu- 
osity, want of consideration, to excuse yourself or to give 
greater value to what you relate? Have you not disguised 
the truth, concealing your intentions, in indifferent things 
under pretext of good, or some other motives? If you do 
so often, especially in rendering an acount of your interior, 
it would be very injurious, still more so, if you acted thus 
in confesssion. 

Have you employed artifice to make known you were 
sick, or that you liad need of something, without telling it, 
or asking for what you wanted lest you might be thought 
too tender or immortified? 

Have you not feigned more sorrow for your faults 
than you really had in your heart? You will know this, if 
you have been as contrite when these faults were known 
to yourself alone, as when you were told of them or 
admonished for them. Did not the tears you shed, or the 
words of exaggeration you used proceed from pride, which 



EXAMINATION FOR THE ANNUAL CONFESSION. 463 

was displeased because your failings were remarked, or was 
gratified by showing that you recognized your faults aud 
had a very low opinion of 3 r ourself and all you did? 

Have you not made vain reflections, when rendering an 
account of the good you have accomplished, and of the 
extraordinary graces God has given you in prayer, speak- 
ing obscurely, pretending shame and intermingling your 
defects? All this is but pride, which makes you fear 
that it will be thought that you make a great account of 
all this, which is a great want of simplicity. Have you 
not sought to cover your defects, especially when they 
were abject, using many words to make it appear that 
you had just occasion for committing them? 

Have you not pretended more sickness than you really 
felt, when you were treated as infirm? On such occa- 
sions did not the refusal of food, of service, or some con- 
venience, proceed from vain courage and from an act of 
duplicity, rather than from a desire of suffering want or 
inconvenience ? You will know this if your heart remained 
tranquil in suffering, and if you did not amuse yourself in 
thinking of your wants. Have you not refused some com- 
fort or relief, apparently through virtue, when it was 
really through immortification that you refused it, because 
it was not pleasing to you? All this is hypocrisy, and 
deceit, or vanity. Have you not shown yourself cour- 
ageous before others, when they compassionated } t ou iu 
your pains and sufferings, being, in private, careful to seek 
the cause of your illness and the most exquisite remedies? 

Have you not, been troubled when your ailment was 
not considered as great as it is or as it seems to you to be, 
observing even the least and smallest pains? 

Have you not, through sensuality, artfully tried to make 
known, that you desired or liked something that it might 
be given you? Have you not been dainty in your food, 
whether in health, or in sickness, delicate and difficult to 
please, wishing only what was to your taste, though in- 
jurious to your health? Have you complained of not being 
well treated, because you thought others were not suffici- 
ently eager to find out what you desired when you were sick ? 
When the food was to your liking did you not indulge too 
freely even though it was but water or fruit? Have you not 



4G4 EXAMINATION FOR THE ANNUAL CONFESSION. 

been disturbed, because the nights appeared long, your 
sufferings great, and the remedies disagreeable? Was it 
not with regret you obeyed the in fir ma nan, as well as the 
physician, doing it with ill-humor, murmuring and com- 
plaining at what was ordered? 

Finally, see how you have excerised yourself in the mor- 
tification of your heart, which is done try overcoming self- 
will and judgment, the passions and inclinations, by sub- 
mitting in all, and condescending freely to the will of others. 

Toivards our Neighbors. 

Do you, love all your neighbors cordially, and for the 
love of God, as well in general as in particular? If you 
love your neighbors and sisters who are awkward and 
uncouth, as well as those whose qualities are naturally 
well pleasing to you, your love is good ; if otherwise, it is 
imperfect, and very often hurtful. Examine well, if you 
treat with them with openness and frankness of heart ; if 
you do them no injury in oneway or another; if you 
pray to God, as earnestly for those who are disagreeable, 
as for those who are pleasing to you. Have 3*011 been 
wanting in the support 3'ou owe your neighbor, in her 
corporal or spiritual infirmities? Have you not judged 
rashly those, for whom you have not much love? 

Have you not suspected them on slight appearances? 
Have you not penetrated into their intentions and designs, 
according to your fancies and to their disadvantage, some- 
times through passion, at other times through a spirit of 
vanity, pretending to be very learned in the discernment of 
spirits, the interior life, natural dispositions and defects? 
then boasting of the judgments you have formed, and 
sometimes affirming them as true, on the experience you, 
yourself, have had of such defects? Have you not spoken 
of their sins and imperfections, complaining, through 
passion and with exaggeration, of their ill-humor, and all 
tins without necessity, to satisfy the aversion or displea- 
sure you have received from them. 

Have you not experienced a feeling of joy when those 
who happened to contradict you, were mortified? This is 
a spirit of revenge Have you uot said some little words 



EXAMINATION FOR TEE ANNUAL CONFESSION. 465 

among the sisters to cause them to be advertised, for 
what they did to displease you 2 Or, if you, yourself, ad- 
vertised them, were you actuated by this same motive, and 
did you not exaggerate their defects, or mis-interpret their 
actions towards you ? This would be a great want of charity. 

Have you not despised your sisters, in thought or deed, 
whether because of their mind, looks or manners, finding 
fault with all they did or said ; and what would be still 
worse, did you despise them because of their condition, 
origin, or the lowliness of their birth? This would be a 
most insupportable vanity. Of lowly condition yourself 
have you never in heart or action elevated yourself above 
others? Have you never uttered harsh, painful, or cutting 
words to wound and offend your sisters, or even seculars, 
contesting and replying with impatience, maintaining your 
own opinion, by your arrogance and self-sufficiency? This 
would be a very great evil, and would greatly scandalize 
3'our neighbor. 

Have you not disputed imperiously, despising the advice 
and judgment of those with whom you were treating? All 
this is very wrong. Have you not been subject to envy, 
which caused }'Ou to rejoice when those, whom you saw 
esteemed, committed faults, and that these faults were 
remarked? Has it not pained you, to see them excused or 
relieved in anything? Examine well your heart on all this, 
and declare all as openly and simply as you can. If you 
have anything which troubles you, whether doubt, tempta- 
tion or difficulty, explain yourself very clearly. 

This examination contains some very particular obser- 
vations, which give light not only for confession, but also 
for the practice of virtue, and makes us see the state of the 
soul in this review of the year. However we are not obliged 
to accuse ourselves so minutely of all these things, if we do 
not wish. It is as necessary, however, to a traveller to know 
and discover the wrong road, to avoid it, as to know the 
right path to follow and walk in it. And truly self-love 
has so spread its snares throughout the whole course of 
the spiritual life, that it is impossible to escape, except, as 
the glorious St. Anthony has said, by passing beneath them, 
humbling ourselves profoundly, examining ourselves seri- 
ously, accusing ourselves sincerely, and all this, without 
30 



466 ACT OF RENOVTTION OF VOWS. 

faltering ; in short, working out our salvation, with a filial 
and chaste fear and a holy trembling, which will make us 
walk in simplicity of heart, in sanctity, justice, and truth 
before God. May His goodness grant us this grace 
through the intercession of His holy Mother, St. Joseph, 
and our holy Founders, who desired this for us. Amen. 



ACT OF RENOVATION OF VOWS. 

Behold, O my God, behold at Thy feet, an ungrateful 
and unfaithful soul, who has abused Thy graces, who has 
broken the alliance made with Thee ; who has violated 
the promises of her profession, and is no longer worthy to 
be called Thy Spouse, because she has " sinned against 
Heaven and before Thee." 

Ah ! Lord, I merit only Thy vengeance ; my perfidy 
has drawn upon me the weight of Thy anger, but reject 
not an humble and contrite heart. O Jesus ! hearken to 
my sighs and tears ! Humbled before Thee, I would 
wish to humble myself to the centre of the earth. Ah ! 
great God, enter not into judgment with Thy servant ! 
May Thy mercy, which alone has supported me in the past, 
still defend me against Thy justice. Remember that if 
Thou art my Judge, Thou art also my Redeemer, and that 
Thou hast commanded me to hope in Thee. How many 
signal benefits hast Thou not granted me during these days 
of salvation ! Thou hast prevented me by Thy grace ; 
Thou hast awakened new feelings in my heart ; Thou hast 
placed before my eyes a light that I feared, and that is, 
perhaps, the last ray of a light about to be extinguished. 
Ah ! I yield and forever to the reproaches of Thy grace 
and my conscience ! Woe to me if I do not profit by them. 
But, my divine Saviour, I will draw all possible fruit from 
them ; I will commence a new life, and since Thy incom- 
prehensible goodness trusts me still, notwithstanding my 
many infidelities, I will renew, with as much sorrow for 
the past, as resolution for the future, the vows I have 
made before heaven and earth. Far from regretting or 



ACT OF RENOVATION OF VOWS. 467 

wishing to take from the altar the voluntary gift of my- 
self, that I have had the happiness of offering Thee, I 
wish to multiply it and make it more entire, that it 
may be more pleasing to Thee. If at that moment, the 
happiest of my life, when I publicly consecrated myself to 
Thee, my own heart was capable of betraying me in Thy 
presence, I now disavow it by new and sincere protesta- 
tions. If less pure motives, or even a less pure voca- 
tion has mingled with my sacrifice anything human, and 
rendered it less perfect in Thy eyes, I wish, to-day, to 
repair all its imperfections by new promises, which neither 
disgust, levity or inconstancy will ever cause me to break. 
I regret nothing, Lord, of all that I have sacrificed in con- 
secrating myself to Th}- service. My only regret is not 
to have had all the pleasures, all the goods of the entire 
world and a thousand other worlds, to offer Thee. Why 
could I not, why can 1 not, now, make to Thee a sacri- 
fice worth} 7 of Thee? What is my liberty, what is my 
whole being, for a God, from Whom I have received, and 
still receive, each day, so many graces? Ah! if these 
vows that 1 have made to Thee, before Thy holy Altar, in 
presence of Thy holy Angels, who bore them to Heaven, 
that Thou mightst ratify them, were not eternal, if it 
were permitted me to break, or revoke, them, I would, 
to-day, use nry liberty only to form and strengthen them. 
The whole world, kneeling in tears before me, would not 
be an obstacle sufficiently strong to retain me, so amiable 
and precious, do I consider these chains. Yes, O my 
God, if, to please Thee, I had not already renounced the 
world, I would do so with increased zeal and fervor. 
Receive, then, the only mark that I can give Thee of my 
sorrow for my past infidelities, my gratitude for Thy bene- 
fits, and my fidelity for the future. 

I ratify, confirm, and renew the vows which I have made 
to Thee and by which I consecrate myself anew and for- 
ever to Thy divine service. Prostrate in body and soul 
before Thy adorable Majesty, I promise Thee, with all the 
resolution, ardor and sincerity of my soul, to be poor, 
chaste, and obedient. 

I desire, by this renovation, to confirm the vows that I 
have already made. I am ready to seal them with my 



468 ACT OF RENOVATION OF VOWS. 

blood, and I protest that I would rather die a thousand 
times than again transgress them. 

my divine Spouse, accept the engagements of this new 
contract, this new alliance, which I make with Thee ! 
Receive them into Thy Heart with Thy spouse, who has 
made them ; engrave them in indelible characters in her 
heart ! I desire to renew them each day of my life, happy 
if I could repeat them with every breath I draw, to give 
Thee continual proofs of my love, and have unceasingly 
before my eyes the happiness of urv consecration. 

1 sacrifice to Thee my mind and all its faculties, my 
body and all its senses, my soul and all its powers, my 
heart and all its affections ; all that I have, all that I am, 
I devote unreservedly to Thy Majesty, in the service of 
religion. 

1 renew to Thee the sacrifice of nry whole being, by 
renewing the vow of obedience. No more will, senti- 
ment, or judgment, but what is conformable to Thine. 

I despoil myself anew of all self-interest, by renewing 
the vow of poverty. I wish to be poor, O divine Jesus, 
as Thou wast. Anathema to my heart, if it appropriates 
to itself the slightest thing, if it makes use of the greatest 
necessaries, except as means to rise, each moment, to 
Thee, Who art its principle, centre, and term. 

With the same fervor, I renew the vow of chastity, 
which engages me to lead an angelic life in a mortal body. 
I will, O my God, by a holy vigilance, avoid all that can 
tarnish the purity of my body, mind and heart. Holy, 
pure and perfect love come and establish in me your 
dwelling ! Ah ! Lord, may a premature death separate me 
from myself, rather than that I should forget the promises 
I have again made to Thee ! 

O treasure of true goods, source of the purest satisfac- 
tions, goodness and beauty, without measure, O Jesus ! 
dispose of my soul, so that it may find its happiness in 
the faithful practice of its engagements, its true riches in 
poverty, its holy delights in chastity, its profound peace 
in obedience. 

Perishable riches, false pleasures, fatal liberty of the 
world, I have done with you, you will no longer have 
any influence over my heart. This heart is dead to you 



ACT OF RENOVATION OF VOWS- 469 

and you are dead to it. What do I say ? This heart is 
no longer mine. O faithful Spouse, I place it in Thy 
hands ; it has been made for Thee ; it would merit anni- 
hilation did it withdraw from Thee. Deign, then, to take 
possession of it, to-day ; reign therein so absolutely that 
nothing may enter, except with and by Thee. This heart 
is Thine ; never restore it to me, I cannot answer for it, 
should it again fall into my hands. Place it in Thy Sacred 
Heart, that in that furnace of love, it may learn to love 
Thee ; place therein all my affections, my desires, all my 
thoughts, my whole being ! 

Strengthen Thy work, support nry steps, crown Thy 
gifts, preserve in me the dispositions, which Thy grace 
has given me ! Add to all these favors, that Thou hast 
granted me, that which alone will crown them, the gift of 
final perseverance in the faithful observance of my vows, 
that is to say, Thy holy love for time and eternity. Amen. 



EETEEAT, 



ARRANGED FOR EIGHT DAYS. 



MEDITATION FOR THE EVE OF THE RETREAT. 



First Day. 



First Meditation : On Creation. 

Second " On the End of Man. 

Conference : On the End of a Religious. 

Third Meditation : On the End of a Christian. 

Consideration : On the Retreat and the Annual Con- 
fession. (App.) 

Fourth Meditation : God our End. 



Second, Day. 



First Meditation 
Second " 

Conference 
Third Meditation 



On Mortal Sin. 

On Venial Sin. 

On Religious Vigilance. 

On Abuse of Grace. 



Consideration : On the principal Fruits of Retreat. 
Fourth Meditation : On the Price of Grace. 



A RETREAT FOR EIGHT DAYS. 



All 



First Meditation : 
Second " 

Conference : 

Third Meditation : 

Consideration : 

Fourth Meditation : 



Third Day. 

On Death. 

On the Last Judgment. 

On the Vow of Chastity. 

On Hell. 

On the Necessity of Self -Abasement. 

On Eternity. 



Fourth Day. 

First Meditation : On Heaven. 
Second " On the Imitation of Jesus Christ. 

Conference : On the Vow of Poverty. 
Third Meditation : On the Imitation of our Holy Found- 
ers. 
Consideration : On the Spirit of Humility. 
Fourth Meditation : On Mortification. 



Fifth Day. 



On Crosses and Pains of Mind. 
On Abandonment to Divine Provi- 
dence. 
On the Vow #f Obedience. 
On the Knowledge of Jesus Christ. 
Consideration : On Humility and Solid Virtue. 
Fourth Meditation : On the Love of Jesus Christ. 



First Meditation : 
Second " 

Conference : 
Third Meditation : 



Sixth Day. 

First Meditation : On Union with Jesus Christ. 
Second " On the Interior Life. 

• Conference : On Prayer. 
Third Meditation : On Silence. 



472 A RETREAT FOR EIGHT DAYS. 

Consideration : On Self-love and the Injury it does 
the Soul. 
Fourth Meditation : On Humility of Heart. 



Seventh Day. 

First Meditation : On Meekness of Spirit. 
Second " On Mutual Love. 

Conference : On the Spirit of the Visitation. 
Third Meditation : On the Blessed Eucharist. 

Consideration : On Exactitude in the Observances, 
Fourth Meditation : On the Oblation of Jesus Christ. 



Eighth Day. 

First Meditation : On Perseverance. 
Second " On the Reception of the Sacraments 

Conferences: On Religious Perfection. 
Third Meditation : On Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. 
Consideration : On the Engagements of the Reli°> 
ous Life. 
Fourth Meditation : On Devotion to the Sacred Heart. 
Act lor the Renovation of Vows. 
Meditation for the Morning after the Retreat. 



RETREAT 



FOR THE THREE DAYS PREVIOUS TO THE RENEWAL OF VOWS, 
OR THE ANNIVERSARY OF PROFESSION. 



For the Eve of the Three Days. 
The Meditation for the Eve of the Retreat. 

For the Morning of the First Day. 

First Meditation : On the Grace of a Religious Vocation* 
Second '* On the Advantages of the Religious 

life. 
Conference : On the Spirit of the Visitation in par- 
ticular. 

For the Afternoon of the First Day. 

First Meditation : On the Engagements of the Religious 
Life 
Second " On the Abuse of Grace. 

Conference : On Religious Vigilance. 

For the Morning of the Second Day. 

First Meditation : On the Love of Jesus Christ. 
Second " On Union with Jesus Christ. 

Conference : On the Vow of Chastity. 



X 



474 THE RENEWAL OF VOWS. 



For the Afternoon of the Second Day. 

First Meditation : On Mortification. 
Second " On Abandonment to Divine Provi- 

dence. 
Conference : On the Vow of Poverty. 



b'or the Morning of the Third Day. 

First Meditation : On Humility of Heart. 
Second " On Meekness of Spirit. 

Conference : On the Vow of Obedience. 



For the Afternoon of the Third Day. 

First Meditation : Ot Perseverance. 
Second " On Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. 

Conference : On the End of the Religious State. 



For the Day of the Renovation of the Vows, or of the 
Profession. 

Conference : On Religious Perfection. 
Act for the Renovation of the Vows. 



683 



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